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HISTORY 



UNITED STATES 



AMERICA, 



WRITTEN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OP PEACE. 



BY 



v/ 



M. MUERAY. 




BOSTON: 
BENJAMIN B. MUSSEY & CO 

NEW BEDFORD : C. & A. TABER. 



1 852. 



Km A 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by 

M. Murray, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



^\'\% 

>^«^^^ 




Feinted by Damrell & Moore, 
IG Devonshire Street, 



PREFACE 



The following work is offered to those, who, not 
wishing to withhold from the reader or student, the 
knowledge of the American wars, regard it as im- 
portant that this knowledge be communicated in such 
a manner as to strengthen a love of peace, and to 
excite reflections' not inconsistent with those suggested 
by the words of the apostle, " Whence come w^ars and 
fightings among you ? Come they not hence, even of 
your lusts that war in your members ? " 

The most approved authors have been consulted to 
obtain accurate information on all subjects worthy of 
notice in a work on American History, some of which 
are not usually embraced in similar works ; such, for 
example, as the United States Exploring Expedition 
and the Manners and Customs of the North American 



IV PREFACE. 

Indians. At the same time much which has appeared 
uninteresting and useless has been omitted. Where 
authorities have differed, great care has been espe- 
cially taken to consult the best sources of knowledge. 

The facts given in the account of the Mexican war, 
are derived chiefly from the works of Jay and Liver- 
.more. Histories may hereafter be written, which shall 
give a different view of the causes which led to this 
war, by persons who adopt the motto, "Our country, 
right or wrong." The writer of the following work, 
not approving a motto so evidently at variance with 
universal and eternal justice, has endeavored to treat 
both governments with impartiality in the delineation 
of the war and its causes. 



AUTHORITIES, 



The following are some of the Authorities made 
use of : — 
Robertson's America. 
Bancroft's United States. 
Frost's United States. 
Hinton's United States. 
Marshall's Life of Washington. 
McIntosh's Indians. 
North American Review. 
Review of Graham's Colonial History. 
Jay's Review of the Mexican War. 
Livermore's Review of the Mexican War. 



CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER I. 
Discovery of America, 1 



CHAPTER n. 
Attempts at Colonization, 21 

CHAPTER m. 

Colonization of Virginia — Early History of Jamestown, 29 

CHAPTER lY. 

State of the Continent, when first visited by Europeans — 

Some account of the North American Indians,- • • * 48 

CHAPTER V. 
Virginia, (continued,) 57 



YUl CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER Aa. 
Colonization of IVIaryland, 62 

CHAPTER Vn. 
Attempts to colonize New England — The Pilgrims,- • • • 71 

CHAPTER .Vm. 
Further Colonization of New England, 83 

CHAPTER IX. 

The United Colonies of New England, 9.9 

CHAPTER X. 

The United Colonies of New England, (continued,)- • • • 108 

CHAPTER XL 
New England, (continued,) -- 124 

CHAPTER Xn. 

New Netherlands, until its final transfer to England,- • • - 136 

CHAPTER Xm. 
New Jersey, as a separate Province, 146 



CONTENTS. IX 

CHAPTEK XIV. 

New York, continued from New Netherlands, 149 

CHAPTER XV. 
Carolina, 153 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Pennsylvania and Delaware, 161 

CHAPTER XVn. 
Georgia, 172 

CHAPTER XVm. 

The French War, and some of the causes which led to it, 1 76 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Difficulties with the British Government, — From 176-i to 

1775, • 191 

CHAPTER XX. 
War— The Revolution, 212 



CHAPTER XXL 

Continuation of the Revolutionary War — Declaration of 

Independence, 225 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEK XXII. 
Continuation of tlie War, 230 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
Campaign of 1778 and 1779, 260 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
Campaign of 1780, 276 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Campaign of 1781 — Conclusion of tlie AVar — Treaty of 

Peace signed, 293 



CHAPTER XXVI, 

Adoption of the Federal Constitution, and Administration 

of George AVasliington, 313 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Administration of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and 

James Madison, 338 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
War of 1812, 364 



CONTENTS. XI 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

From the Treaty of Peace with England in 1815, to the 

Mexican Controversy, 388 

CHAPTER XXX. 

The MexicanWar, with some of the causes which led to it, 403 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
Exploring Exjfedition under Captain Wilkes, 432 

CHAPTER XXXH. 
ConclusioH, 437 



ii 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



/ 



CHAPTER I. 

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 



The country in which we live, teeming with a thriving 
population, studded with cities, towns and villages, was, in all 
probability, unknown to the ancients ; and was mostly one 
vast wilderness, frequented by wild beasts, and inhabited only 
by tribes of Indians, savage and warlike, who subsisted by 
hunting and fishing. It was discovered in 1492.* Previous- 
ly to that time mariners were accustomed to short voyages 
only, and seldom ventured out of sight of land. But the 
spirit of adventure was high in the wish to find a more direct 
passage by water to India, the trade with which was then 

* The Norwegians and Icelanders have claimed the honor of having 
first discovered the American continent. The Royal Antiquarian So- 
ciety at Copenhagen has published some of the Icelandic authorities, 
which seem to render it quite probable that Greenland was visited by 
a party from Iceland as early as 986 ; and that in the year 1000, an. 
exploring voyage was made by Norwegians, in which the company 
proceeded as far south as Labrador and Newfoundland, and possibly 
Nantucket. 

It is stated that several voyages were made, and that a colony ex- 
isted for several years in Greenland. But there is no reason to sup- 
pose that Columbus had any knowledge of these explorations. 



14 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Christopher Columbus. Sails from Palos. 

conducted over land, attended witb great expense and danger. 
For this purpose Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa, 
first conceived the design of venturing into the unexplored 
waters of the ocean. He was a navigator of great skill, and 
a man of a bold, enterprising and persevering spirit. 

There were some indications which had tended strongly to 
incite a spirit of inquiry. Pieces of carved wood, a canoe 
and two human bodies, different in complexion from any Eu- 
ropeans, had been washed upon the shores of islands in the 
neighborhood of Europe. The shape of the earth was then 
known to be round, and Columbus was thus induced to think 
that the East Indies might be reached by sailing west. In 
pursuance of this opinion he applied to the king of Portugal 
for aid, but the subject was treated with ridicule. Persevering 
in his efforts, Columbus sent his brother to Henry VII of 
England. The voyage was attended with so much delay, 
that the favorable views of that monarch did not become 
known to Columbus until after his return from the first voy- 
age, when the discovery had been made. 

This indefatigable man, after the failure of his application 
to the court of Portuojal, sou2;ht assistance from Ferdinand 
and Isabella of Spain. At first they also regarded the idea 
as chimerical, but by the representations of Columbus, the 
queen, after a long delay, was induced to lend him all the 
assistance in her power, even offering to pledge her jewels for 
this purpose. By her directions three small vessels were 
fitted out. They were provided for twelve months, and had 
on board one hundred and twenty persons. AVith these, 
Columbus sailed for the Canary Islands, from the port of 
Palos, in Spain, on the 8d of Eighth month, (Aug.,) 1492. 
At these islands ho stopped to refit, and sailed again 
en the 6th of Nintli month, (Sept.,) into a wide and 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 15 

Discontent of the seamen. Discovery of land. 

unexplored sea. In about eight da^s, when they had pro- 1492 
ceeded six hundred miles, the compass was observed to vary 
from its direction to the north polar star. This alarmed them 
much. It was totally unaccountable, never having before 
been observed. With difficulty Columbus allayed their fears, 
being unable himself to explain the cause. He appears to 
have satisfied them, by telling them that the star had mo- 
tion, and not the needle. Not however meeting with land 
as soon as they had anticipated, they again became uneasy, 
showed symptoms of insubordination, and agreed among 
themselves that Columbus should be forced to relinquish 
the undertaking, and even talked of throwing him into 
the sea. Amidst all the difficulties and dangers of his sit- 
uation, Columbus appeared calm and composed, and dis- 
played those traits of character which proved his qualifica- 
tion for the undertaking ; sometimes by assuming a tone of 
authority, again by soothing his companions, he preserved 
his ascendency. Meanwhile they proceeded, and signs of 
land began to appear. Flocks of birds were observed; a 
piece of cane freshly cut was taken up ; the water had become 
more shallow. These and other indications satisfied Colum- 
bus that land was not far distant ; but his unbelieving mar- 
iners still demanded to be taken back to Spain ; and it re- 
quired all the energy and tact of which Columbus was master, 
to obtain their consent to persevere a little longer. Soon 
afterwards, at night, a light was seen at a distance, giving 
evidence not only of land, but of inhabitants also. A little 
after midnight, a gun from the foremost vessel proved the 
land to be in sight, and when the day dawned, an island 
was in full view about two leagues to the north. On the 
morning of the 12th of Tenth month, (Oct.,) about seventy 
days from the time they left Spain, the boats were manned. 



16 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Return of Columbus. Amerigo Vespucci. 

1492 and the Spaniards rowed to the shore, bearing the royal 
standard. Columbus first set foot on the island, and took 
possession in the name of the Spanish sovereigns. 

The natives, who had assembled in great numbers on the 
first appearance of the ships, beheld the strangers with aston- 
ishment, not being aware of the existence of any country 
from which they could have arrived. They regarded them 
as beings of a superior order, who came rather to confer ben- 
efits than to despoil them of their land. 

The island was called by the natives Guanahani ; Colum- 
bus gave to it the name of St. Salvador. It is one of the 
l^ahamas, distant about three thousand miles from the Ca- 
naries. 

Columbus afterwards touched at other islands of the same 
group, and also discovered Cuba and Hayti, to the latter of 
which he gave the name of Hispaniola, when the eagerness of 
his men to return to their native country induced him to make 
preparations for departure. These islands Columbus sup- 
posed to be at no very great distance from India, and, having 
been reached by a western passage, they were called the 
West Indies. 

The return of Columbus with the news of the discovery, 
filled the kingdom with astonishment and joy ; and he received 
many proofs of royal favor, proportioned to the magnitude 
of his services. He made three voyages, and in 1498, he 
reached South America, at the mouth of the river Orinoco. 

Columbus, although the discoverer of America, was pre- 
vented from giving a name to the continent. Amerigo Ves- 
pucci, a Florentine, visited the country some years afterwards, 
and on his return published an account of his voyage, with 
observations on the natural productions of the places which 
he had visited, the inhabitants and their customs. This was 



DISCOVERY OP AMERICA. 17 

Gabofc discovers the continent. The coast explored. 

the first narrative given to the public, and led to the idea that 
the author was the real discoverer, and the continent, in con- 
sequence, received the name of America. 

Columbus was also deprived of the rewards promised by 
Ferdinand and Isabella, and "after having attracted the 
admiration and applause of the whole civilized world by the 
brilliancy of his achievements, he was suffered to die in com- 
parative poverty and neglect." 

Soon after the return of Columbus from his first voj^age, 1497 
John Cabot, a Venetian by birth, resident in England, in- 
terested Henry VII in plans for discovery. In the year 
1497, accompanied by his son Sebastian, he crossed the At- 
lantic, discovered the Island of Newfoundland, and arrived 
at the continent in the neighborhood of lat. 56^. In the hope 
of discovering a northwest passage to India, they then sailed 
to the north a short distance ; but returning, cruised along 
the coast as far south as Florida. It was in consequence of 
discoveries made during this voyage, that England laid claim 
to the eastern part of the continent of North America, not 
considering that the soil was already owned by those who 
occupied it, and from whom it could only rightfully be ob- 
tained by purchase. 

Sebastian Cabot, a native of England, pursued the discov- 
eries which his father had begun, and explored the coast from 
Labrador to the southern boundary of Maryland ; but the 
maps which he made, as well as the records of the voyage, 
have in some way been lost. 

These successful explorations were the means of inciting 1523 
other adventurers into the newly discovered world. In the 
year 1523, Francis I, king of France, sent John Verrazzani, 
also a native of Florence, on a voyage of discovery to the re- 
gions which had excited so much wonder and ambition. He 



18 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Florida. Search for gold. 

1523 cast anchor on the shores of North Carolina, where Euro- 
peans liad never landed, and was received with kindness by 
the natives, who had not yet learned to fear the white man. 
Proceeding northward, the coast was explored as far as Nova 
Scotia. 

Voyages to America now became frequent. Some were for 
fishing, others for trading with the natives, and attempts soon 
began to be made to plant colonies, many of which were 
without permanent result. 

Florida was discovered under the auspices of Spain, in the 
year 1512, but no settlement was made for many years. 
The Spaniards gave the country the name of Florida, from 
the day on which land was first seen, being that called Easter 
Sunday, Pascua Florida, as well as " from the aspect of the 
forests, which were then brilliant with a profusion of blossoms, 
and gay with the fresh verdure of early spring.*' 

In 1541, adventurers from Spain also travelled west- 
ward beyond the Mississippi, in search of gold, disturbing 
the peaceful Indians in their course, taking many prisoners, 
putting some to death, and enslaving others. One of their 
battles was so terribly destructive to the Indians, that 
two thousand of their number are said to have been slain, 

1541 suffocated or burned. In the course of the march of the Span- 
iards, natives were met with who were an agricultural people, 
with fixed places of abode. But neither the happiness, the 
rights nor even the lives of the Indians appear to have been 
at all regarded. Nothing having been met with to satisfy 
the avarice of the adventurers, their leader at length sunk 
under repeated disappointments, and the remnant of the com- 
pany left the country, unable to possess themselves of the soil. 
The Spaniards claimed, under the name of Florida, the whole 
gea-coast as far as Newfoundland, but as yet had planned no 
settlement, 



DISCOVERY OF AMERICA. 19 

French Protestants in Florida. Settlement of St. Augustine. 

Under the auspices of France, a colony of Protestants had 1564 
sought an asylum in the peninsula of Florida. It had been 
a cherished desire of Coligny, the leader of the Protestant 
party in France, to establish a refuge for the Huguenots, and 
a Protestant French empire in the new world. The first 
expedition failed. In 1564, he renewed his solicitations 
with Charles IX for the colonization of Florida. The 
king approbated the measure. Emigrants were quite 
ready, for "men still dreamed of rich mines of gold in 
the interior," and Laudonniere was appointed to conduct 
them. They established themselves on the banks of the 
river now called St. Johns. The French were hospita- 
bly welcomed by the natives, but soon lost their confidence 
by unjust dealings with them. In the spring, supplies of 
every kind were received, with fresh emigrants, and Calvinism 
appeared about to become established in the inviting regions 
of Florida. But Spain had no inclination to surrender to 
France what she considered a portion of her dominions; 
neither would Philip II, the Spanish king, willingly permit 
heretics to plant themselves in the neighborhood of his Cath- 
olic provinces. An expedition for their extermination was 
accordingly fitted out in 1565. It had been the intention of 
Melendez, the Spanish commander, to select a favorable 
site for a settlement, and when fortifications had been 
constructed, to attack the French. After sailino- alon^^ 
the coast, they discovered a " fine haven and beautiful 
river," to which they gave the name of St. Augustine. 15G5 
Having taken possession of the continent in the name of their 
king, they immediately commenced the foundation of the 
oldest town now existing in the United States, more than forty 
years before the first settlement in A^irginia. The French 
colony was soon attacked, the Spaniards gained the ascen- 



20 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Settlement of Port Royal. 

dency, and a scene of carnage ensued in which nearly two 
hundred persons were killed. *' A few Catholics were spared ; 
some mechanics were reserved as slaves ; the rest were 
massacred." Thus ended the Huguenot settlement, and 
France resigned all claims to Florida. 

In 1540, the French had made an unsuccessful attempt to 
establish a colony in Canada. For many years afterwards, 
being involved in difficulties at home, no further discoveries 
were made by that government. Under the enlightened reign 
of Henry lY, the spirit of enterprise and the hope of found- 
ing colonies in America, revived. An expedition was pre- 
pared, and resulted in the establishment, in 1605, of a colony, 
which they named Port Royal, afterwards called Annapolis, 
on a harbor in the Bay of Fundy ; difficult of access, but 
possessing some advantages. Thus was the first French set- 
tlement made on the American continent, three years before 
the founding of Quebec by the same nation, and two years 
before Jamestown was settled by the English. 

In the establishment of all these colonies, the European 
monarchs seemed to forget that the natives of America had 
exclusive right to the soil, and appeared to think that they 
themselves could bestow the government on whomsoever they 
pleased ; the only claim required being to obtain possession 
before any other European power. 



CHAPTER II. 

ATTEMPTS AT COLONIZATION. 



Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Walter Raleigh. 

While the fisheries of Newfoundland were frequently 1579 
visited, and the minerals of Labrador sought as containing 
gold, the attention of Sir Humphrey Gilbert was directed 
towards plans of colonization. He succeeded in obtaining 
a charter from Queen Elizabeth, and in 1570, sailed from 
England with a small fleet. But the wreck of one of his 
vessels, and other difficulties, obliged him, for the time, 
to relinquish the undertaking. 

In 1583, a second expedition was fitted out by Sir 158r 
Humphrey Gilbert and his near relative, Walter Ptaleigh, 
attended with no other result, however, than the "empty 
ceremony " of taking possession of the Island of New- 
foundland in the queen's name, and conve3;ing home some 
earth which was supposed to contain silver. On their re- 
turn, the vessel in which Gilbert sailed was lost at sea, 
and all on board perished. 

This sad incident did not discouraf^e Walter Raleifrh. He 

D O 

had taken part in the civil contests between the Huguenots 
and the Catholics in France, where he received information 
respecting Florida and the navigation to those regions, and 
resolved on the establishment of a settlement there, in order 
to secure to England those countries which had been repre- 
sented as so delightful. He had no difficulty in obtaining 
from Elizabeth a patent as ample as that which had been 



90 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



Amadas and Barlow in Virginia, Colony of Roanoke. 

conferred on Gilbert, and two vessels, well laden with men 
and provisions, and under the command of Philip iVmadas 
and Arthur Barlow, were soon on their way to the Western 
World. 

1584 They took the usual route by the way of the Canary 
Islands and the West Indies, and after a short stay, ar- 
rived opposite the shores of Carolina in Seventh month, 
(July,) 1584, a little more than two months after leaving 
home. They sailed along the coast about one hundred 
miles in search of a convenient harbor, and landed on the 
Island of Wocoken, bordering Ocracock Inlet, taking posses- 
sion in the usual manner, for the Queen of England. The 
English received a friendly welcome from the natives, whose 
timidity was overcome by the desire of trading. Having made 
but a short stay in America, and explored Albemarle and 
Pamlico Sounds and Ptoanoke Island, they returned to Eng- 
land, taking with them two of the Indians, who had been in- 
duced to accompany them. On their arrival, they gave such 
glowing descriptions of the country, its beauty, fertihty, mild- 
ness of climate and serenity of atmosphere, that Elizabeth, 
as a memorial that this happy discovery was made under a 
maiden queen, gave it the name of Virginia. Raleigh was 
knighted as the reward of his enterprise. 

1585 Encouraged by this pleasing report, the next year, 1585, 
llaleigh sent to the shores-of Carolina, seven small vessels, 
with upwards of one hundred persons. Ralph Lane, a man 
of considerable distinction, was appointed governor of the 
colony, and Sir Richard Grenville, commander of the fleet. 
It sailed from Plymouth, accompanied by several men of em- 
inence, among whom were Cavendish, who soon after cir- 
cumnavigated the globe, and Hariot, a distinguished math- 
ematician. Having arrived on the coast they were in much 



ATTEMPTS AT COLONIZATION. 23 



Treatment of the natives. Sketch of the Indians. 



danger of being wrecked on the point of land, then first called 1585 
Cape Fear, and passing through Ocracock Inlet, the fleet 
reached Roanoke. 

Soon after landing, an excursion was made to examine the 
country. The party was "well entertained of the savages," 
but a trifling theft having occurred, Grenville ordered an 
Indian town to be burned, and the standing corn to be 
destroyed ; an act not only wrong in itself, but very impol- 
itic, when the adventurers might, in a great measure, soon 
■ be dependent upon the friendship of these sons of the 
forest. Soon after this, the colonists having landed, the fleet 
sailed for England ; and on their return, took a Spanish prize. 
The dangers of a passage across the Atlantic at this time were 
great, as the vessels of Spain and of England felt mutually 
authorized to attack each other whenever they met. 

Hariot, Cavendish and other scientific men who remained 
in the colony, gave considerable attention to the examination 
of the country, its soil and productions, with a view of obtain- 
ing articles for commerce. 

The Indians were divided into numerous small tribes, in- 
dependent of one another, and arc described as too feeble to 
inspire terror. They were clothed in mantles and aprons of 
deer-skins. Their towns were small, the largest containing 
but thirty dwellings. The walls of the houses were made of 
bark, fastened to stakes. 

They were not ignorant of religion, but had a confused 
belief in the existence of one Supreme Power, in continued 
existence after death, and in retributive justice in a future 
life. 

The fire-arms of the English filled them with terror ; and 
the Indians began to dread their power. Fearing there were 
more of these wonderful people coming to kill them and take 



24 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Treachery of the English. Return of the Colonists, 

1585 a^ay tbeir lands, they began to devise means to get rid of 
them. 

Lane, governor of the colony, and his associates, infatuated 
with the desire of obtaining gold and silver, neglected the culti- 
vation of the soil, and listening to the tales of the Indians 
concerning rich mines which were to be found in the in- 
terior, went in pursuit of the hidden treasure. The na- 
tives had hoped to destroy the colonists by thus dividing 
them ; but in this they were defeated, as Lane and his asso- 
ciates were soon compelled to return for want of provisions. 
The Indians next formed the design of leaving their lands 
unplanted, supposing that famine might drive away these in- 
truders. This plan was not carried into effect, yet the English 
began to fear that a general conspiracy was preparing. Ke- 
quesling an audience of Wingina, the most active among the 
native chiefs, Lane and his attendants were received by him 
without suspicion, and although no hostile intentions were 
discovered, the English fell upon the king and his principal 
followers, putting them to death without mercy. 

The colony was now assailed with hostility and famine. 
The men began to despond, and were longing for the com- 
forts of the homes they had left, when Sir Francis Drake vis- 
ited them with a fleet of twenty-three vessels, on his return 
from the "West Indies to England. lie supplied the gov- 
ernor with a bark containing all necessary provisions for the 
colony, and induced two sea-captains to remain to complete 
the surveys along the coast and rivers. Should their suffer- 
ings become extreme, the whole company were to return to 
England. But an unexpected storm destroyed the vessel 
containing their provisions; and although Drake devised means 
for supplying them a second time, yet their desire to leave 
the country was so strong that he yielded to it and conveyed 



ATTEMPTS AT COLONIZATION. 25 

Second colony on Roanoke. 

them to their native land. The delay of a few days would 
have obviated this necessity, for a ship, laden with supplies, 
which had been sent out by Raleigh, then arrived, and in 
another fortnight Sir Richard Grenville reached there with 
three well-laden vessels. He left fifteen men on the Island 
of Roanoke, to retain possession in the name of England, and 
returned home. 

The colonists on the Island of Roanoke, introduced into 
England the general use of tobacco, a favorite indulgence of 
the lethargic Indians. 

Not discouraged by the unfavorable result of his efforts to 
establish colonies, Raleigh next determined to send out emi- 
grants with wives and families, who should at once feel their 
homes to be in the new world, and be induced to devote their 
attention to agriculture. In 1587, with John White ap- 
pointed as governor, the fleet set sail, carrying with them an 1587 
ample provision of the implements of husbandry. They ar- 
rived at the Island of Roanoke about midsummer, and en- 
deavored to find the small company left there by Grenville ; 
but of their fate they could learn nothing. "It is most 
probable that their misconduct had caused their dispersion, 
perhaps their death ; the bones of one person were seen." 
" Wild deer were reposing in the untenanted houses, and 
were feeding on the productions which a rank vegetation still 
forced from the gardens. No vestige of surviving life ap- 
peared." 

Raleigh had designed that the new settlement should be 
made on the Chesapeake Bay, but the unwillingness of the 
commander to explore the coast, compelled them to remain on 
Roanoke. Here many hardships were encountered. Some 
of the Indians were friendly; others were fearful of the 
encroachments of strangers, and killed one of the party. 



26 HISTORY OF TUE UNITED STATES. 

The Island found deserted. 

This the Enj^lish determined to revenge, and meeting with a 
company of Indians whom they took for enemies, the work of 
destruction was begun before it was discovered that they be- 
longed to a friendly tribe. 

Thus with the existence of a mutual spirit of animosity, the 
colonists felt their dependence on England, and urged the 
governor to return in the vessel which had brought the emi- 
grants, that he might intercede for supplies. On his depar- 
ture, he left behind him his daughter, and his granddaughter, 
Virginia Dare, the first offspring of English parents on 
American soil. 

When he arrived in England, the attention of the nation 
was excited with the threatened invasion of the great Spanish 
Armada. Raleigh, however, found means for sending two 
vessels vith supplies for the needy colony. But so great was 
the desire for Spanish prizes, that the governor and those 
entrusted with the vessels, neglected the object of their voj^age, 
until one of the vessels being boarded and rifled by a man-of- 
war, they were both obliged to return to England. And 
when, after two years' delay, in 1590, White, the governor, 
returned to search for the colony, the island was found to be 
1590 deserted. "An inscription on the bark of a tree pointed to 
Croatan ; but the season of the year, and the dangers from 
storms, were pleaded as an excuse for an immediate return. 
Had the emigrants already perished? or had they escaped 
with their lives to Croatan, and through the friendship of 
Manteo, become familiar with the Indians? The conjecture 
has been hazarded, that the deserted colony, neglected by 
their own countrymen, were hospitably adopted into the tribe 
of Hatteras Indians, and became amalgamated with the sons 
of the forest. This was the tradition of the natives at a later 
day, and was thought to be confirmed by the physical charac- 



ATTEMPTS AT COLONIZATION. 27 



GosnolJ explores part of the New England coast. 



tor of the tribe, in which the En^^lish and the Indian race 
seemed to have been blended. Raleigh long cherished the 
hope of discovering some vestiges of their existence ; and 
though he had abandoned the design of colonizing Virginia, 
he yet sent, at his own charge, and, it is said, at five several 
times, to search for his liege-men. But it was all in vain ; 
imagination received no help in its attempts to trace the fate of 
the colony of Roanoke." * 

In 1G02, Bartholomew Gosnold conceived the idea of a 
direct voyjige across the Atlantic, instead of the route pre- 1G02 
viously pursued by the way of the Canaries and the West 
Indies. Sailing in a direct westwardly coast, in accordance 
with this view, he reached the continent in Massachusetts 
Bay. Proceeding southward, he discovered Cape Cod, the 
Elizabeth Islands, and Buzzard's Bay. Upon one of the 
Elizabeth Islands, the foundations of the first New Enirland 
colony were intended to be laid ; but dread of the Indians, 
and fears of not obtaining seasonable supplies of food, ren- 
dered the company unwilling to be left. "When GosnolJ, by 
traffic with the natives, had completed his freight, the whole 
party returned to England. 

The favorable accounts given by Gosnold and his com- 
panions, induced others to pursue the discoveries. The 
reports made by these navigators, confirmed those previously 
given, and led to a more extensive scheme of colonizatioa 
than any that had yet been attempted. 

" The daring and skill of these earliest adventurers upon 
the ocean, deserve the higliest admiration. The difficulties 
of crossing the Atlantic were new, and it required the greater 
couraj^e to encounter hazards which ignorance exajr^eiated. 

* Bancroft. 



28 UISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Perils of the voyagers. 

The character of the prevalent winds and currents was un- 
known. The possibility of making a direct pa.ssage was but 
gradually discovered. The imagined dangers were infinite ; 
the real dangers exceedingly great. The ships at first em- 
ployed for discovery, were generally of less than one hundred 
tons burden ; Frobisher sailed in a vessel of but twenty-five 
tons ; two of those of Columbus were without a deck ; and 
so perilous were the voyages deemed, that the sailors were 
accustomed before embarking, to perform solemn acts of de- 
votion, as if to prepare for eternity. The anticipation of dis- 
asters was not visionary. Columbus was shipwrecked twice, 
and once remained for eight months on an island, without any 
communication with the civilized world. Hudson was turned 
adrift in a small boat by a ciew whom suffering had rendered 
mutinous. Willoughby perished mlh cold," * while many 
others were lost at sea. 

* Bancroft. 



CIFAPTER III. 

COLONIZATION OF VIRGINIA. EARLY HISTORY OF 
JAMESTOWN. 

North anil South Viryiuia. Londoa and Plymouth Companies. 

We have luthcrto traced navigators on voyages of discov- 
ery,. and followed men of various nations in their attempts to 
form permanent settlements "in America. But now the period 
had arrived when these efforts were to be crowned with suc- 
cess, and places of refuge for the oppressed were founded in 
the western world. 

The attention of many persons of intelligence and rank had 
become directed to Virginia ; and Gosnold, after soliciting the 
concurrence of his friends for the establishment of a colony, 
prevailed upon John Smith, an adventurer of remarkable 
genius and great perseverance, in company with others, to 
consent to encounter the perils of an expedition. King James 
I favored the design of enlarging his dominions, and when a 
company of men of business and men of rank applied to him, 
he promoted the noble work by readily issuing an ample pa- 
tent. He divided into two districts that portion of North Amer- 
ica extending from the 34th to the 45th degree of latitude. 
One of these he called South Virginia, the other North Vir- 
ginia ; and formed two companies for planting colonies within 
their limits. The southern district he granted to a company res- 
ident in London and its vicinity, called the London Company ; 
the northern district, to a company of merchants and others 
in the west, styled the Plymouth Company. Each was to 
own the soil extending fifty miles north and south of its first 
settlement, so that neither company could establish a colony 



30 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Departure of emigraDts for Virginia. 

within one hundred miles of the other. The present States of 
Virginia and North Carolina were comprised within the limits 
of South Virginia ; and North Virginia embraced the New 
Eno-land States. The land was to be held on the condition 
of homao-e to the crown, and a rent of one-fifth of the net 
produce of the gold and silver, and one-fifteenth of copper, 
from the mines to be discovered. The right of coining money 
was granted to the colonists. The superintendence of the 
whole colonial system was confided to a council in England, 
appointed by the king ; the local administration of each 
colony was entrusted to a council residing within its limits, to 
be named by the council in England. 

"Not an element of popular liberty was introduced into 
the form of government. Religion was specially to be estab- 
lished according to the doctrine and rites of the Church of 
England. Kindness to the savages was enjoined, with the 
use of all proper means for their conversion." Early 
in the winter, on the 19th of Twelfth month, (Dec.) 160G, 
forty-one years after the settlement of St. Augustine, 
the company of adventurers, consisting of 105 men, set 
sail for Virginia. Among them there were but twelve la- 
1606 borers, — few mechanics, and no men with families. The in- 
structions to the council, with the names of its members, had 
been concealed in a box, which was not to be opened until 
the arrival of the vessels in Virginia ; consequently no com- 
petent authority existed to repress the disorders which arose 
during the voyage. Newport, who commanded the ships, 
being acquainted with the old passage, by the way of the 
Canaries and the West Indies, lost much time in taking this 
course. When approaching the coast a severe storm carried 
the fleet bi'yond the Island of Roanoke, the original place of 
destination, into Chesapeake Bay, more than four months after 



COLONIZATION OF VIRGINIA. 31 

Landing and organization. Powhatan. 

their departure from England. The head lands of the bay 
received the names of Cape Henry and Cape Charle.s, in honor 
of the sons of King James. The country within the capes 
appeared to the emigrants as delightful as any they had ever 
beheld. They soon entered the river, called by the natives 
Powhatan, to which they gave the name of James, from their 
sovereign. After a search of seventeen days, they selected 
a site for the infant settlement, about fifty miles above the 
mouth of the river, and conferred on it the name of James- 
town.* The emigrants landed on the 13th of Fifth month, 
(May,) 1607. The box containing the instructions of the 
council in England, and the names of the local council, kav- 1607 
ing been opened, that body became duly organized, and chose 
Edward Wingfield for their president. They then, as they 
had power to do, excluded Captain Smith from their number, 
on a charge of sedition, his superior abilities having excited 
their jealousy. He was, however, soon restored, his peculiar 
talents being required to restrain the insubordination and 
vices of the colonists. 

A few huts were immediately constructed, and a part of 
the men were soon employed in felling timber, and in pro- 
viding freight for the ships, while Newport and Smith, with a 
small party, ascended the James river, and visited the native 
chief Powhatan, at his principal seat, a village of twelve wig- 
wams, just below the present site of Richmond. The king 
received them in a friendly manner, but his subjects feared 
the intrusion of the English, 

In the early part of the summer, Captain Newport sailed 
for England. It was then the English began to realize their 
situation ; in the midst of a wilderness, inhabited only by 

*The place is now cultivated as a farm, and the only remaining relic 
left to mark the site of Jamestown is the ruin of an old meeting-house. 



32 UISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Hardships and discouragements. Captain Smith. 

1607 savages, their number small, and without habits of industry. 
The provisions brought \Yith them from England were either 
consumed, or had been spoiled in the long voyage ; the heat 
of the summer they found difEcult to support ; and so dis- 
heartened were they, that very soon after the departure of tho 
fleet, scarcely any of them were able to work. They took no 
care to provide for their future subsistence, and planted no 
crops. Famine and sickness ensued. Before fall, one half 
of their number perished, and among them, Bartholomew 
Gosnold, the projector of the enterprise, a member of tho 
council, and whose salutary influence in preserving harmony 
there, was much mis.sed. 

The management of affairs was now confided to Smith, 
whose courage and cheerfulness once more animated the colo- 
nists. His talents and personal activity, which, in more pros- 
perous times, had been viewed with jealousy, now, in adver- 
sity, excited regard and deference. It required much skill 
and tact on his part, to defeat the conspiracies which were 
formed to abandon the country ; the danger of which contin- 
ued to be great until the approach of winter rendered the 
home navigation perilous, and the fear of famine was removed 
by provisions received from the Indians, and the abundance 
of game with which the forests abounded. To explore the 
country, frequent excursions were made into the interior. In 
one of these, the party was surprised by the Indians, and all 
but Smith put to death. His life was preserved through self- 
possession. Showing them a pocket compass, he interested 
them in the explanation of its properties ; and in endeavoring 
to give them some general ideas of the nature of the universe, 
and the form of the earth, he excited their admiration. They 
allowed him to send a letter to Jamestown. The effect of the 
little paper increased their astonishment. He was evidently 



COLONIZATION OF VIRGINIA. 33 

His return from captivity. Passion for gold. 

a being of a superior order, but tbej were at a loss wbether 
to regard him as a friend, or to dread him as an enemy. lie 
was conducted to Powhatan, who would have put him to 
death, but for the intercession of his dauglitcr, Pocahontas, 
an interesting girl of about ten or twelve years of ago. 

The Indians now endeavored to secure the friendship of 
Smith, and gain his assistance in the destruction of the col- 
ony at Jamestown. By his wisdom and prudence, he suc- 
ceeded in averting their design ; when they allowed him to 
leave with mutual promises of friendship. Thus the captivity 
of Smith was the means of establishing a peaceful intercourse 
between the colony and the Indians, and was of other advan- 
tage, as he had made himself acquainted with the country, 
and had gained some knowled2;cof the lanojuai>;e and manners 
of the natives. 

On his return. Smith found the colony reduced to forty 1608 
persons ; most of whom were making preparations to leave 
the country. With great difficulty he induced them to re- 
linquish their design. In the spring, Newport arrived at 
Jamestown, with 120 emigrants and a quantity of provisions. 
The hopes of the colonists revived, but the character of those 
who had now joined them was not such as to add much 
strength to the settlement, being chiefly '' vagabond gentlemen 
and goldsmiths," who, instead of attending to the cultivation 
of the soil as a means of their subsistence, only fostered a 
passion for gold. They fancied they had discovered grains of 
this metal in a glittering earth found near Jamestown, and 
notwithstanding the remonstrances of Smith, the energies of 
the colonists were at once directed to collecting this worthless 
earth and sending; it to Endand. 

The consequences were soon severely felt, in famine and 
disease. In the hope of obtaining some relief by opening an 



34 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Arrival of fresh emigrants. New charter. 

intercourse with more remote Indian tribes, as well as to ex- 
plore the Chesapeake and its tributaries, Sinith, with a few 
companions, during the summer of 1608, and with a scanty 
supply of food, in a small open boat, made two voyages, which 
occupied three months, sailing nearly throe thousand miles. 
He not only surveyed the bay, and explored most of its rivers, 
but penetrating the country, established friendly relations 
with some native tribes. The map which he prepared and 
sent to the London Company was a correct delineation of the 
country which he explored. Although the coloni.^ts had been 
unwilling to submit to the judgment and authority of Smith, 
yet three days after his return he was again chosen president 
of the council, and habits of industry and subordination began 
to prevail. 

About this time Newport again arrived with a second sup- 
ply of provisions and seventy emigrants. But " experience 
had not taught the Company to engage suitable persons for 
Virginia," and Smith wrote to them, " When you send again, 
I entreat you rather send but thirty carpenters, husbandmen, 
gardeners, fishermen, blacksmiths, masons, and diggers of 
trees' roots, well provided, than one thousand of such as we 
have." 
1609 After the departure of the ships. Smith employed his 
authority to enforce industry, requiring the people to work 
six hours in the day. Yet so unskilful were they in agri- 
culture, and so little land had been cultivated, that it was 
still necessary to depend in part on the Indians for food. 
The health of the colony improved ; only seven died this 
season, out of a populatron of two hundred. 

At this period, a new charter was granted to the Company, 
conferring on them additional privileges, and bestowing powers 
which had been heretofore reserved to the king. 



COLONIZATION OF TIRGINIA. 35 

New emigrani-s. DisorJer. Smith returns to England. Sufferings. 

The council in Virginia had been abolished, and the gov- icOO 
ernment vested in a London council, who were empowered to 
nominate a governor in Virginia, to carry their orders into 
execution. To this important station, Lord Delaware was 
appointed ; but as he could not immediately leave England, 
the authority was temporarily delegated to others. 

The Company now fitted out nine ships, conveying five 
hundred emigrants, in company with the officers appointed to 
assume the charge of the government. 

A violent hurricane separated the vessel in which these 
officers were embarked from the rest of the fleet. The re- 
mainder arrived safely at Jamestown. Again, however, were 
the new comers such as should properly have remained at 
home, being more likely to ruin a colony than to assist in 
raising one. They assumed to themselves the power of dis- 
posing of the government, and all was disorder and confu- 
sion. But Smith hesitated not what course to pursue, and 
declared that his authority would only terminate with the 
arrival of those appointed to supersede him. He imprisoned 
the leaders of the sedition, and restored regularity and obe- 
dience. 

Soon after Smith received a severe wound by an accidental 
explosion of gunpowder ; and not being able to obtain relief 
in Virginia, returned to England for surgical aid. At his 
departure, there were nearly five hundred persons in the col- 
ony ; but these, no longer restrained by his energy and pru- 
dence, abandoned themselves to idleness. Their provisions 
■were soon consumed ; the Indians refused further supplies, 
and in sis months their number was reduced to sixty, by " in- 
dolence, vice and famine." The sufferings of the settlers 
during this period, were so great, that it was distinguished 
for many years, as the "Starving Time;" and the small 



36 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Relief. Lord Delaware. 

number that survived must also have perished before many 
days, had not relief arrived as it did, and that from a source 
altogether unexpected. The officers and others who had sailed 
from England in the missing vessel, arrived at Jamestown on 
the 24th of Fifth month, (May,) 1610. They had been 
wrecked on the Bermudas, yet none of them had perished, and 
1610 a considerable part of their provision was saved. Having 
constructed two vessels, they embarked for Virginia, hoping 
there to join a prosperous colony. The relief which they 
were able to afford the survivors, though it saved them from 
immediate death, was only temporary. Nothing, therefore, 
appeared to remain, but that they should all abandon the col- 
ony, and seek relief from their countrymen, employed in the 
fisheries at Newfoundland. With a small supply of pro- 
visions for the voyage, they set sail, but before they reached 
the mouth of the river, they were met by Lord Delaware, who 
had arrived on the coast with emigrants and supplies. He 
prevailed upon them to return to Jamestown. The mildness 
and assiduity of the Governor, restored order and content- 
ment, and the colonists performed their task with alacrity. 
At the commencement of every day, they received their al- 
lowance of food. Comfort was returning. The houses were 
warm and secure, covered above with strong boards, and 
matted on the inside like the Indian wigwams. 

But the wise administration of Lord Delaware was of short 
continuance ; ill health soon obliged him to leave the coun- 
try. There were at this time about two hundred men in the 
colony, but the declining health and departure of one so 
well qualified to govern, cast a gloom over Jamestown. In 
the mean time Sir Thomas Dale had been sent out with 
liberal supplies. On his arrival he took charge of the 
government, and wrote to the council, informing them of 



COLONIZATION OF VIRGINIA. 37 

New settlements. Marriage of Pocahontas. 

the small number and weakness of the colonists, but speak- 
ing very highly of the country. In consequence, they were 
soon gratified and delighted by the arrival of Sir Thomas 
Gates, with six ships and three hundred emigrants, and a 
plentiful supply of provisions. Gates immediately assumed 
the government, amidst the thanksgivings of the colonists for 
this unexpected relief. 

Encouraged by these reinforcements, the English extended 1613 
their plantations along the banks of the river, and several 
new settlements were formed. The rights of the Indians 
were, however, but little respected. 

During this year, a treaty of peace was concluded with 
the Powhatans and with the Chickahominies, both of them 
powerful and warlike tribes. The immediate cause of this, 
was the marriage of Pocahontas with John Rolfe, a young 
and respectable planter, under the following circumstances : — 

A party of the colonists, while on a trading voyage to the 
Potomac, visited Pocahontas, and persuaded her to go on 
board their vessel, where she was respectfully treated, but de- 
tained and carried to Jamestown. The captain presumed that 
the possession of Pocahontas would give the English an as- 
cendency over Powhatan, who was known to be much attached 
to his daughter. In this, however, he was disappointed. 
Powhatan was indignant at this instance of treachery in the 
English, and offered a ransom for his daughter; but he 
would not consent to any terms of peace, until she was re- 
stored. 

But Kolfe winning the favor of Pocahontas desired her in * 
marriage, and to the delight of the native chieftain, the 
nuptials were accomplished. The consequence of this marriage 
was not only peace with her father, but with all the tribes 
who stood in awe of his power. Having been instructed in 



HISTORY OF TUE UNITED STATES. 



Argall sent against the French. 



the En<!;lish lano-uao;e, Pocahontas sailed ^vith her husband 
to England, where she was much caressed and admired 
for her virtues and loveliness, rendered the more beau- 
tiful bj her childlike simplicity of character. She died when 
about to return to America, leaving one son, from whom some 
of the most respectable families in Virginia trace their de- 
scent. 
1G18 The colony seemed now on a permanent basis, and the 
English were determined to establish for themselves exclu- 
sively the right of territory to forty-five degrees of latitude. 
To prevent any encroachments, Capt. Argall was sent with a 
naval force to drive the French from the settlements they had 
begun in Acadia, now Nova Scotia. He accomplished the 
object of the expedition, and on his return visited a Dutch 
trading establishment, within the port of New York, to assert 
the sovereignty of England. 

In relation to this expedition, Bancroft remarks : '* This 
first contest between France and England for colonial pos- 
sessions in America, was, in dignity, not superior to the acts 
of marauders and pirates ; the struggle was destined to in- 
crease, till the strife for acres, which neither nation could cul- 
tivate, kindled a war that spread throughout the globe." 

An important change, and attended with the most whole- 
some results, took place in the manner of holding property. 
Agreeably to the directions of the king, given at the time of 
the first emigration to Jamestown, the land had hitherto been 
possessed by the colonists in common, every man being re- 
/ quired to work a certain number of hours every day, and all 
sharing equally the produce, which was deposited in public 
gtores. So long as industry had been without its special re- 
ward, labor had been reluctantly performed, and want had as 
necessarily ensued. Under the administration of Dale, who 



COLONIZATION OF VIRGINIA. 89 

Apportionment of land. Tobacco. First Colonial Assembly. 

on the return of Gates to England, had been again entrusted 
with the o;overnment, a few acres of land were assigned to 
every man as his private property, to plant for his own use ; 
a portion of his time still being devoted to fill the public 
stores. This new regulation gave so powerful an impulse to 
industry, that an additional assignment was afterward made of 
fifty acres to every individual, and the plan of working in 
common, to fill the public stores, was entirely abandoned. 

The attention of the colonists now became much turned 
towards the cultivation of tobacco. The appetite for this nox- 
ious and naturally repulsive plant, had greatly increased in 
England, and the settlers supposed that it might be raised at 
a largo profit. Their whole energies were accordingly ap- 
plied in this direction. Another scarcity of food was the con- 
sequence, and to obtain relief they again plundered the ill- 
treated Indians, and revived all their former animosity. 

Since the year 1611, the colony had been governed by 
martial law, which was administered by Argall, deputy gov- 
ernor, with so much rigor as to excite universal discontent, 
and to check emigration. The council in England, listening 
to the complaints of the Virginians, appointed Geo. Yeardlcy 
governor, and instructed him to inquire into and redress their 
grievances. He arrived in 1619, and commenced a series of 
wise and benevolent acts. Martial law gradually disappeared. 1619 
The power of the governor had been limited by a coun- 
cil, who were to redress any wrongs that he might commit. 
The people of the colony were now admitted to a share in the 
legislation, by the institution of a colonial assembly, composed 
of the governor, his council and two representatives from 
each of the boroughs. This assembly, the first representative 
body convened in America, met at Jamestown in Sixth month, 
(June,) 1619 ; and their deliberations were marked with 
judgment. 



40. HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Prosperous results. General Assembly established. 

1G20 Thirteen years after the first landing at Jamestown, 
when eight thousand pounds had been expended by the 
Company, there were in the colony but six hundred persons, 
men, women and children. Emigrants had arrived fre- 
quently from England, but nearly all were men, who, in the 
spirit of adventure, came for the purpose of obtaining wealth, 
intending eventually to return. But the dawn of civil free- 
dom in the establishment of a representative government had 
a most happy effect on the minds of the colonists. They 
now began to regard Virginia as their country, and ninety 
young women were induced by the Company to venture across 
the Atlantic, where they were assured of a welcome. These 
were married to the planters, who, by the formation of domes- 
tic ties, became more attached to their homes. The follow- 
ing year sixty more were sent out ; the cost of their passage, 
as well as that of the others, being defrayed by the colonists. 
Within three years thirty-five hundred individuals emigrated 
to Virginia. 

The colonial assembly convened by Gov. Yeardley, although 
approved by the London Company, had never received their 
formal sanction. In the summer of 1621 a written constitu- 
tion was established. A governor and council were to be ap- 

1621 pointed by the Company ; a general assembly was to meet 
yearly, to be composed of the members of the council, and of 
two burgesses from each of the boroughs, to be chosen by 
their respective inhabitants. This assembly had the power 
to enact laws, but subject to a negative from the governor, 
and the approval of the Company in England. It was also 
enacted that no orders of the London Company should be 
binding unless ratified by the assembly. Trial by jury was 
granted to the colonists. This constitution was brought over 
by Sir Francis Wyatt, who had been appointed to succeed 
Gov. Yeardley. 



COLONIZATION OF VIRGINIA. 41 

Introduction of slavery. Encroachments of the English. 

It was in 1620 that the traffic in slaves commenced in 
the British American colonies ; and the foundation was thus 
laid of a system, opposed to the principles of the gospel, 
abhorrent to every feeling of justice and humanity, and 
wholly inconsistent with the spirit of our republican insti- 
tutions ; which is now sapping the prosperity of the whole 
country, and retarding, in an especial manner, the improve- 
ment of those States where it exists. In the summer of this 
year, a Dutch man-of-war sailed up the James river, and 
landed twenty negroes, who were sold into slavery. There was 
at that time a great demand for laborers, yet the laws of the 
colony discouraged the increase of slavery by taxation, and the 
trade was for many years chiefly carried on by the Dutch. 

The cultivation of cotton was introduced in 1G21. The 
colony was then flourishing. But this state of things did 
not long continue. Quarrels with the Indians had already ]^g2l. 
occurred, and a war soon broke out. From the first landing 
in Virginia, the power of the natives had been despised. 
They were unacquainted with the use of fire-arms, and were 
nowhere collected in large villages, but dwelt in detached 
companies, consisting of not more than sixty in each. The 
population did not exceed about one inhabitant to a square 
mile. Although no especial pains had been taken to secure 
their friendship, the settlers felt no fear, and extended their 
plantations along the banks of the river. 

Powhatan after the marriage of his daughter had remained 
the firm friend of the English, but he was now dead ; and 
his younger brother, who succeeded him, did not feel the same 
friendly disposition. The English were encroaching more 
and more upon their lands. Their numbers were constantly 
increasing by new arrivals. The Indians were subjected to 
injuries which their revengeful dispositions could illy bear. 



42 niSTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Massacre by the Indians. War. 

There seemed to them but one way of maintaining their rights, 
and that was the extermination of the English. This they 
1622 knew could only be accomplished by a general surprise. The 
plan was therefore conducted with the utmost secrecy. When 
all was prepared in the spring of 1622, tbe Indians simul- 
taneously commenced the attack upon distant villages, extend- 
ing one hundred and forty miles on both sides of the river, 
and sparing none. In one hour, three hundred and forty- 
seven persons, men, women and children, were massacred ; 
and had it not been that the conspiracy was revealed by a 
converted Indian to one whom he wished to save, the whole 
colony might have been exterminated. Jamestown and the 
nearest settlements were thus preserved. By this massacre 
the number of settlements was reduced from eighty to sis or 
seven; the colonists became dispirited, agriculture was neg- 
lected, and sickness prevailed in consequence of the people 
crowding together. Some of the settlers returned to England. 
In that country the intelligence of these misfortunes excited 
strong sympathy, and new supplies and assistance were 
promptly despatched. 

Plans of revenge were soon formed, and a war of exter- 
mination followed, in which the whites, after destroying many 
of their enemies, obliged the remainder to retire far into the 
wilderness. The fields and villages of the Indians were now 
appropriated by the colonists. But nothing less than the de- 
struction of the Indians, could satisfy the English ; and this 
could only be effected by allaying their fears and inducing 
them to return to their old homes. Offersof peace were made, 
which the Indians accepted, and once more resumed their for- 
mer occupations. In 1623, the inhabitants of the different 
plantations, made a sudden attack upon the adjoining savages, 
murdering those who came in their way, and driving the rest 
into the woods. 



COLONIZATION OF VIKGINIA. 43 

Dissolution of the London Company. 

In 1624 the attack was repeated. In 1630, schemes of 
venofeance were still meditated, and the colonists were unwil- 
ling to conclude a peace on any terms. During this war, so IQ^Q 
many of the Indians were destroyed, either by the hands of 
the whites or by hunger in the wilderness, that some of the 
tribes nearest to the English settlements, were entirely extir- 
pated. We shall see, in the early history of Pennsylvania, 
where a different course was pursued towards the aborigines, 
that these repeated barbarities might have been avoided, and 
peace and harmony fully maintained with the untaught sons 
of the forest. 

The diflaculties and disasters to which the people of Vir- 
ginia had been so frequently subjected, attracted the atten- 
tion of King James. Desiring to recover the influence he 
had lost, by surrendering the government of the colony 
into other hands, he made these troubles a pretext for 
an examination into the affairs of the Company. The result 
was, that he attributed the want of commercial success 
and prosperity, to mismanagement by the corporation, and 
revoked the charter which he himself had given. The Lon- 
don Company thereby became dissolved, after expending large 
sums of money, which had as yet yielded no return. 

The king now entrusted the control of the colony to a gov- 
ernor and twelve councillors, to be appointed by himself, and 
to be governed by his instructions. These imposed restric- 
tions on the trade of the colony, which much retarded its pros- 
perity. With regard to tobacco, now become the staple pro- 
duction, it was required that all raised in Virginia, should be 
sent to England, and there delivered to agents authorized to 
sell it. 

The death of the king, which occurred in 1625, prevented 
the completion of a code of laws designed for the government 
of the colony. 



4-1: HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Exactions of Charles. Tyranny of Harvey. 

Charles I inherited the disposition of his father, and during 
the early part of his rcgin, the liberties of the colonists were 
greatly infringed. In 1626, he reappointed Sir George 
Yeardley to the office of governor, who, in conjunction with a 
council of twelve and a secretary, was to exercise supreme 
■\QOQ authority; and was enjoined to conform to instructions, which 
might, from time to time, be received from the king. Yeardley 
and his council carried out the views of their sovereign, and 
thus the representatives of the people were entirely prevented 
from enacting laws for their own government. 

The next step of Charles was to monopolize the profits of 
the industry of the planters. With this view, a proclamation 
was issued, prohibiting the sale of tobacco to any person but 
commissioners appointed by himself. 

The staple of Virginia thus sunk in value, while landed 
property was rendered insecure by grants made by Charles, 
which were not only of great extent, but, from imperfect 
acquaintance with the country, were often made to include dis- 
tricts already occupied and planted. 

Sir John Harvey succeeded Yeardley in the govern- 
ment of the colony. He had already rendered himself 
unpopular in Virginia by his political views, and after 
his appointment, he rigorously enforced every act of power, 
and paid no attention to the remonstrances of the people. 
The colonists submitted a long time to his tyranny. At 
length they seized him and sent him a prisoner to England, 
accompanied by two commissioners appointed to represent 
their grievances to the king. These, however, met with no 
favor from Charles, who considered the measure of the colo- 
nists an act of rebellion against his authority. Without hear- 
ing the charges of the commissioners, he sent Harvey back to 
Virginia, invested with his former powers. 



COLONIZATION OP VIRGINIA. 45 

General Assembly re-established. Restrictions on commerce. 

Although Charles thus asserted his authority in Virginia, 
he was not insensible to the grievances of the colonists, 
and soon after removed the governor. He named as a 1539 
successor, Sir William Berkeley, a man of great abilities, 
prudent, virtuous and popular. Under his administration, 
the colony continued for many years prospering and in- 
creasing. 

The instructions of Berkeley were, in many respects, simi- 
lar to those of his predecessor, yet he was empowered to de- 
clare that in all its affairs, civil as well as ecclesiastical, the 
colony was to be governed according to the laws of England. 
Bepresentatives of the people were to be elected, who, in 
conjunction with the governor and council, were to form a 
general assembly, and to possess supreme legislative author- 
ity. Berkeley was directed to establish courts of justice, in 
which all causes should be decided agreeably to the forms of 
procedure in England. 

The original plan of Charles to secure to himself the ad- 
vantages arising from the sale of the productions of the colo- 
nists, was not altered. All commerce with foreign nations 
was therefore prohibited, and Berkeley was required to take a 
bond from the master of every vessel which sailed from Vir- 
ginia, to land his cargo in some part of the king's dominions 
in Europe. Notwithstanding these restrictions, the colony 
advanced rapidly. 

Tobacco was at this time generally used instead of coin. 
Great inconvenience resulted from the adoption of an article 
as currency, which fluctuated in price. Debts had been con- 
tracted to be paid in tobacco, and when the staple rose in 
value, in consequence of laws restricting its culture, the as- 
sembly enacted that no man need pay more than two-thirds 
of his debt. 



46 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Hostilities with the Indians. Peace. 

Hostilities with the Indians had continued since the 
massacre of 1622, and the assembly would still suffer 
no terms of peace to be made. It was not an unfrequent 
practice to assault them by sudden marches against their 
settlements. In 1644, the natives resolved upon one more 
attempt to destroy the colony. They believed that by the 
destruction of the cattle and the fields of corn belono-ing 
1fi44 *^ ^^^^ English, they should be able to famish the remainder 
of the colonists whom they could not succeed in killing by 
surprise. But they had hardly commenced the massacre, 
before they began to fear the consequences of their brutality, 
and becoming intimidated, fled to a distance. About three 
hundred persons had been killed. The war was now vigor- 
ously conducted. The Indian king was made prisoner, and 
died in captivity. 

The English, being again on their guard, felt little appre- 
hension. Though the warfare continued, and the hunter and 
the solitary traveller often fell victims, no further attack was 
made on the colony. 

In the fall of 1646, peace was established, with the condi- 
tions of submission and a cession of lands by the natives, 
1646 who now withdrew from the settlements. They have contin- 
ued to retreat, as the white inhabitants have increased, until 
the names of the rivers and mountains have become their only 
memorial in Virginia. 

The colonists now enjoyed a state of prosperity, and ships 
with emigrants were frequently arriving. Their commerce 
had increased so much, that in 1648 upwards of thirty ships 
were engaged in trade with New England and diflferent parts 
of Europe. The population was 20,000. 

When the disputes commenced between Charles I and 
the parliament, Virginia espoused the cause of the king ; and 



COLONIZATION OF VIRaiNIA. 47 

SubmissioQ to the Commonwealth. 

after his execution, recognized his son, not because they 
loved monarchy, but because they cherished the liberties 
Charles had bestowed upon them. 

When the parliament had gained the ascendency in 
England, it did not long permit its authority to be denied by 
the British colonies in America. A numerous squadron was 
sent to reduce the Virginians to submission ; and at the same 
time a law was established prohibiting the intercourse between 
Virginia and the other colonics. The liberties of English- 
men were offered in case of adherence to the commonwealth, 
with a general pardon for their former loyality. In case of 
resistance, war was threatened. 

Under these circumstances the Virginians gave up all 
thoughts of opposition, and contended only for the freedom 
of their institutions, which was granted them, and the 
government continued to be entrusted to their own as- 
sembly. Although Episcopacy had been the religion of tho 
colony, there were Puritans who had been left unmolested. 
When religion subsequently became a political question in 
England, conformity to the establishment was enforced in 
Virginia, by disfranchisement and exile. But under the 
commonwealth, religious liberty was again allowed. 



CHAPTER IV, 



STATE OF THE CONTINENT WHEN FIRST VISITED BY 
EUROPEANS. SKETCH OF THE NORTH AMERI- 
CAN INDIANS. 

Manner of subsistence. Division into tribes, &c. 



When the continent of North America was first visited by 
Europeans, it was, with little exception, one unbroken forest. 

In the woods, the natives gathered nuts and fruit of differ- 
ent kinds ; and in small patches which had been cleared by 
means of fire and edged tools made of stone, they cultivated, 
among other vegetables, some now in common use, such as 
maize or Indian corn, pease, beans, pumpkins, etc. ; also some 
bulbous roots, which they dried^ and used as bread ; and flax 
and hemp, equal in quality to that used in Great Britain. 
Their main dependence for food was on the chase and fish- 
eries. Their only drink, before their intercourse with white 
men, was water. 

The North American Indians, although divided into dis- 
tinct tribes, differing in some respects from one another, and 
often at enmity, may be considered as one class, possessing in 
common most traits of character. Every town or village had 
a sachem or chief. Each tribe included a number of villages, 
with one chief over the whole. A nation or confederacy con- 
sisted of several tribes under one grand sachem, to whom all 
the others were subject. Their records were kept by strings 
of wampum. Their councils were orderly conducted, and 
their treaties, usually secured by smoking the calumet, or pipe 
of peace, were kept inviolate. The Indian was firm and 



SKETCH OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 49 

Their religion. Dress. 

faithful in friendship, strongly susceptible to kindness, but 
implacable as an enemy. Time among them was noted by 
the moon and sun. 

Their religion was very simple. They worshipped a Great 
Spirit, whose power they believed to be infinite, and to whom 
their victories in battle, and their success in the chase, were 
ascribed. They also believed in an inferior spirit, whom 
they regarded as the author'of all their misfortunes ; and in a 
future state, where the pleasures of this life are enjoyed .in 
greater perfection. 

Their dress consisted of furs. One piece was fastened 
around the waist, another was thrown over the shoulders. 
They wore leggings of skins fitted to the shape of the leg, the 
seams being ornamented with porcupine quills. Their faces 
were often painted, generally red. Ornaments were worn in 
the nose and ears. The men sometimes plucked the hair 
from the head, excepting a round spot on the crown, of about 
two inches in diameter. To this they fastened large plumes, 
with quills of ivory or silver, and in some cases, an entire skin 
of a hawk, stuffed and with extended wings, has been thus 
worn. The dress of a warrior was very profuse in ornament, 
and was often a record of his deeds. 

In rude and barbarous stages of society, where education is 
not known, and the mind is uncultivated, where the blessings 
of Christianity are experienced but in a small degree, we are 
not surprised at any of these things ; but as nations advance 
in civilization and in religion, we look for less attention to 
the decoration of the person, and more to the cultivation of 
the mind and heart. 

Their wigwams or huts were simply constructed, and were 
of various forms and dimensions. Some were made with long 
poles fixed in the ground, brought together and fastened at tho 



50 HISTORY OF TUE UNITED STATES. 



Their dwellinirs. Wild animals of the country. 



top, and covered with bark, or with mats made of long rushes. 
They were sometimes lined with embroidered mats. Others 
were built with the logs of whole trees, and covered with 
palmetto leaves ; the door of each was usually a loose mat. 
The dwellings of the Indians have been stated to have been 
not much inferior to the houses of the common people in 
England, at a little earlier period.* Mats on the floor, or the 
skins of wild beasts, formed their beds. The fire was kindled 
in the centre of the room, and the smoke escaped through the 
door. They had neither chair nor stool, but sat on the ground, 
commonly with their elbows on their knees. Iron was un- 
known to them. Their domestic utensils were of stone or 
wood, and fire was produced by continued friction. 

The wild animals with which the country abounded were 
chiefly the following : — The Moose, which existed in New 
England and in the region of the Great Lakes ; the Reindeer, 
found in great numbers in the northern regions ; the Elk, 
which ranged at that time over most of the continent, but is 
now abundant only in the far west ; the common Deer, found 
throughout the country between Canada and the Orinoco ; the 
Black Bear, extending over the whole of North America ; the 
Polar Bear, only in the polar regions ; the Grizzly Bear, per- 
haps the most formidable and ferocious of all wild animals, no or 
existing west of the Rocky Mountains, although there is some 

* The style of living of the aborigines of our country was not very 
dissimilar to that of the English in the reign of Queen Mary. At that 
time, according to Hume, " the dwellings of people, even of consid- 
erable estate, were of plank, badly put together, and chimneys were 
almost unknown in England. The fire was kindled by the wall, 
and the smoke found its way through the roof, door or windows. 
The furniture was appropriate. The people slept on straw pallets, 
having a log under their heads for a pillow, and almost every domes- 
tic utensil was of "wood." 



SKETCH OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. tVl 

Wild animals. Employments of the Indians. 

reason to believe it was formerly found in the Atlantic regions ; 
the Wolf, then extending over the most of North America ; 
the Cougar, improperly called Panther, the largest animal of 
the cat kind in North America, sometimes designated the 
American Lion, formerly distributed over the wann and tem- 
perate regions ; and the Bison, commonly called the Buffalo, 
formerly found throughout the whole territory of the United 
States, excepting east of the Alleghanies. The buffalo is 
now mostly confined to the wilds of the West, where herds of 
them consisting of some thousands are sometimes seen to- 
gether blackening the great plains as far as the eye can view, 
and in the night producing a noise by their movements, resem- 
bling distant thunder. The smaller and less important wild 
animals were chiefly the fox, otter, skunk, badger, raccoon, 
weasel, squirrel, muskrat, marmot or woodchuck, marten, 
beaver, opossum, dog, cat, mink and the mole, shrew, 
mouse and bat. 

In the choice of a husband, the woman was controlled by 
her father. To him the suitor made a present, usually of 
game. Approbation being obtained, which was seldom re- 
fused to an expert hunter, a present was made to the woman, 
the acceptance of which signified consent. The match was 
then concluded, without any ceremony. 

The Indian men did little but engage in the chase or in 
war. When not employed in this way, or in the preparation 
of things necessary to these exercises, they idled away their 
time. On woman they depended for the necessary domes- 
tic labor, thinking this unworthy of men. Her industry 
raised the corn and vegetables for food. She assisted in the 
construction of the canoes, and in the building of the wig- 
wams, and, when journeying, carried them on her shoulders. 
When a wife died, the husband did not weep for her. Ac- 
cording to the savages tears do not become men. 



52 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Children. Implements of war. 

The young children were provided for in a very summary 
manner. Their cradle consisted of a board to which they 
were laced after being wrapped in furs. This was hung up 
in the wigwams, or set in a corner, and often attached to the 
back of the mother, who carried her child about in this way. 
The erect stature of the Indian is doubtless in part owing to 
this mode of treatment. 

The Indians had not the wholesale means of destroying one 
another which men in a civilized state have invented. Their 
arms, previously to their intercourse with Europeans, were 
bows and arrows, war clubs and tomahawks. Their boats were 
formed by hollowing out a large tree. 

Every Indian was the protector of his own rights. When 
these were invaded, an opportunity for revenge was sought. 
Atoning presents were the signal for peace. A belt, painted 
red, or a bundle of bloody sticks, was a token of defiance ; a 
hatchet, painted red, sent to the nation they were about to 
attack, was a declaration of war.* 

The Indians were distinguished for their oratory. In their 
public addresses they were animated, bold, eloquent and 
often pathetic. t 

*Most of the Indians retain, to a great extent, their former mode of 
life. Some few tribes and parts of others have become partially civil- 
ized. Many of them have been taught to subsist by agriculture. 

fTHE SPEECH OF RED JACKET, THE SENECA CHIEF, TO 
A MISSIONARY. 

"Friend and Brother, — It was the will of the Great Spirit that we 
should meet together this day. He orders all things, and he has given 
us a fine day for our council. He has taken his garment from before 
the sun, and caused it to shine with brightness on us. Our eyes are 
opened, that we see clearly ; our ears are unstopped, that we have 
been able to hear distmctly the words that you have spoken ; for all 
these favors we thank the Great Spirit, and him only. 

*' Brother, this council fire was kindled by you ; it was at your re- 



SKETCH OF THE NORTU AMERICAN INDIANS. 53 

Concluding remarks. 

Such was the country, and such were the inhabitants, when 
the first permanent English settlement was made. Where 

quest that we came together at this time ; we have listened with atten- 
tion to what you have said ; you requested us to speak our minds freely ; 
this gives us great joy, for we now consider that we stand upright be- 
fore you, and can speak what we think ; all have heard your voice, 
and ail speak to you as one man ; our minds are agreed. 

" Brother, you say you want an answer to your talk before you leave 
this place. It is right you should have one, as you are a great dis- 
tance from home, and we do not wish to detain you ; but we will first 
look back a little and tell you what our fathers have told us, and what 
we have heard from the white people. 

" Brother, listen to what we say. There was a time when our fore- 
fathers owned this great land. Their seats extended from the rising to 
the setting sun. The Great Spirit had made it for the use of the In- 
dians. He had created the buffalo, the deer and other animals for 
food. He had made the bear and the beaver, and their skins served 
us for clothing. He had scattered them over the country and taught 
us how to take them. He had caused the earth to produce corn for 
bread ; all this he had done for his red children, because he loved them. 

" If Ave had any disputes about hunting grounds, they were generally 
settled without the shedding of much blood ; but an evil day came 
upon us ; your forefathers crossed the greatwaters, and landed on this 
island. Their numbers were small ; they found tribes, and not 
enemies ; they told us they had fled from their own country for fear 
of wicked men, and come here to enjoy their religions. They asked 
for a small seat; we took pity on them, granted their request, and 
they sat down among us. We gave them corn and meat ; they gave 
us poison in return. 

" The white people had now found our country ; tidings were carried 
back and more came among us, yet we did not fear them, we took 
them to be friends ; they called us brothers ; we believed ihem and 
gave them a larger seat. At length their numbers had greatly in- 
creased ; they wanted more land ; they wanted our country. Our eyes 
were opened, and our minds became uneasy. Wars took place; 
Indians were hired to fight against Indians ; and many of our people 
were destroyed. They also brought strong liquors among us ; it was 
strong and powerful, and has slain thousands. 

•' Brother, our seats were once large, and yours were very small ; you 
have now become a great people, and we have scarcely a place left to 



54 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Concluding remarks. 

are the aborigines now ? Melted away at the approach of the 
white man. The record of their history is a melancholy tale. 

spread our blankets ; you have got our country, but are not satisfied; 
you want to force your religion upon us. 

" Brother, continue to listen. You say that yoii are sent to in- 
struct us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeable to his mind, and if 
■we do not take hold of the religion you white people teach, we shall be 
unhappy hereafter. You say that you are right and we are lost ; how 
do you know this to be true ? We understand that your religion is 
written in a book ; if it was intended for us as well as you, why has 
not the Great Spirit given it to us, and not only to us, but why did he 
not give to our forefathers the knowledge of that book, with the means 
of understanding it rightly ? "VVe only know what you tell us about it ; 
how shall we know when to believe, being so often deceived by the 
white people ? 

** Brother, you say there is but one way to worship and serve the 
Great Spirit ; if there is but one religion, why do you white people 
differ so much about it ? "Why not all agree, as you can all read the 
book ? 

" Brother, we do not understand these things ; we are told that 
your religion was given to your forefathers, and has been handed down 
from father to son. We also have a religion which was given to our 
forefathers, and has been handed down to us, their children. We wor- 
ship that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we 
receive ; to love each other, and to be united ; we never quarrel about 
religion. 

" Brother, the Great Spirit has made us all ; but he has made a great 
difference between his white and red children ; he has given us a dif- 
ferent complexion, and different customs ; to you he has given the 
arts ; to these he has not opened our eyes ; we know these things to 
be true. Since he has made so great a difference between us in other 
things, why may we not conclude that he has given us a different reli- 
gion, according to our understanding ? The Great Spirit docs right ; 
he knows what is best for his children ; we are satisfied. 

" Brother, we do not wish to destroy your religion, or take it from 
you ; we only want to enjoy our own. 

"Brother, you say that you have not come to get our land or our 
money, but to enlighten our minds. I will now tell you that I have 
been at your meetings, and saw you collecting money from the meet- 
ing. I cannot tell what this money was intended for, but suppose it 



SKETCH OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 55 

Specimens of Indian oratory. 

was for your minister ; and if we should conform to your way of think- 
ing perhaps you may want some from us. 

" Brother, we are told that you have been preaching to white people 
in this place ; these people are our neighbors ; we are acquainted with 
them ; we will wait a little while and see what eifect your preaching 
has upon them." 

SPEECH OF META, CHIEF OF THE POTTOWATTOMIES, 

AT CHICAGO, BEFORE GOVERNOR CASS, AGAINST 

SELLING LAND. 

" My father, we have listened to what you have said. We shall now 
retire to our camps and consult on it. You will hear nothing more 
from us at present. We met you here to-day because we had prom- 
ised it, to tell you our minds, and what we have agreed upon among 
ourselves. 

" You will listen to us with a good mind, and believe what we say. 
You know that we first came to this country a long time ago, and 
when we sat ourselves down upon it, we met with a great many hard- 
ships and difficulties. Our country then was very large, but it has 
dwindled away to a small spot, and you wish to purchase that. This 
has caused us to reflect much upon what is going forward. You know 
your children. Since you first came among them, they have listened 
to your words Avith an attentive ear, and have always hearkened to 
your counsels whenever you have had a proposal to make to us. 
Whenever you have had a favor to ask of us, we have always lent a 
favorable ear, and our invariable answer has been ' Yes.' This you 
know. A long time has passed since we first came on our lands, and 
our old people have sunk into their graves. They had sense. We 
are all young and foolish, and do not wish to do anything that they 
would not approve, were they living. We are fearful we shall offend 
their spirits if we sell our lands ; and we are fearful we shall offend you 
if we do not sell them. This has caused us great perplexity of thought, 
because we have consulted among ourselves and do not know how we 
can part with the land. Our country was given to us by the Great 
Spirit, who gave it to us to hunt upon, to make our cornfields upon, 
to lie upon, and to make our beds upon when we die ; he would never 
forgive us, should we bargain it away. When you first spoke to us for 
lands at St. Mary's, we said we had a little, and agreed to sell you a 
piece of it ; but we told you we could spare no more. Now you ask 
us again. You are never satisfied ! We have sold you a great tract 
of land already ; but it is not enough ! We sold it to you for the 



56 HISTORY OE TUE UNITED STATES. 

Specimens of Indian oratory. 

benefit of your children, to farm and to live upon. We have now but 
little left. We shall want it all for ourselves. We know not how long we 
may live, and we wish to have some lands for our children to hunt upon. 
You are gradually taking away our hunting grounds. Your children 
are driving us before them. We are growing uneasy. What lands 
you have, you may retain forever; but we shall sell no more. 
You think, perhaps, that I speak in passion ; but ray heart is good 
towards you. I speak like one of your own children. I am an 
Indian, a red skin, and live by hunting and fishing, but my country 
is already too small ; and I do not know how to bring up my chil- 
dren, if I give it all away. We sold you a fine tract of land at 
St. Mary's. We said to you then, it was enough to satisfy your chil- 
dren, and the last we should sell ; and we thought it would be the last 
you would ask for. We have now told you what we had to say. It 
is what was determined on in a council among ourselves ; and Avhat 
I have spoken is the voice of my nation. On this account all oiir peo- 
ple have come here to listen to me; but do not think we have a bad 
opinion of you. Where Avould we get a bad opinion of you ? We 
speak to you with a good heart, and the feelings of a friend. You 
are acquainted with this piece of land — the country we live in. Shall 
we give it up ? Take notice, it is a small piece of land, and if we give 
it away, what will become of us ? 

*' The Great Spirit who has provided it for our use, allows us to keep 
it, to bring up our young men and support our families. We should in- 
cur his anger if we bartered it away. If we had more land you should 
get more ; but our land has been wasting away ever since the white 
people became our neighbors, and we have now hardly enough to 
cover the bones of our tribes. You are in the midst of your red children. 
What is due to us in money, we wish, and I will receive it at this place, 
and we want nothing more. We shall shake hands with you. Behold 
our warriors, our women and children ; take pity on us and on our 
words." 



CHAPTER V. 

VIRGINIA. (Continued.) 



Character of emigrants. Laws relating to the colored race. 

The population of Virginia was of a different character 
from that of the other English settlements. The colonists 
were not refugees from persecution, but came out under 
the auspices of nobility, and brought with them an attachment 
to monarchy, as well as to the established religion of Eng- 
land. 

There existed a marked division of society into two classes, 
to a degree unknown in any northern colony. Fifty acres of 
land had been allowed to the planters, for every individual 
whom they transported at their own charge. Thus a body of 
large proprietors arose, who formed an aristocracy. General 
education was not encouraged. The diffusion of knowledge 
being confined to the higher classes, these distinctions in soci- 
ety became stronger and more obvious. 

Many of the lower classes had immigrated, bound to a tem- 
porary servitude. The liberation of these was secured at the 
expiration of their term of service. Great severity existed in 
the laws towards the colored race. Their enfranchisement 
was not encouraged, and even the early Anglo-Saxon rule, 
interpreting every doubtful question in favor of liberty, was 
superseded. The death of a slave from extremity of correc- 
tion, was not accounted felony, and in 1672, the wounding or 
even killing of fugitive slaves in their pursuit was made law- 
ful. 



58 HISTORY OF TUE UNITED STATES. 



Kcstrictions on commerce. 



Althougli the Virginians bad for a time renounced their 
allegiance to Charles II, yet the intelligence of his restora- 
tion to the British throne in 16G0, was joyfully received ; and 
an assembly was called, in the name of the king, in the 
spring of 1G61. Many important changes in judicial pro- 
ceedings were introduced ; trial by jury was restored. The 
established religion of England, which had lost its supremacy 
IGGl ^^^i"o *^^^ protectorate, was again enforced by law, strict 
conformity being demanded, and that every one should con- 
tribute to its support. Severe laws were made against all 
non-conformists, and their meetings prohibited by the institu- 
tion of heavy fines. All such residing in the colony, were 
threatened with banishment, and the shipmaster that received 
such as passengers, was punished. 

Soon after the accession of Charles, the apprehensions of 
the people became awakened, by the restrictions on their trade, 
for rendering it subservient to English commerce and naviga- 
tion. One of the first acts of parliament was to vote a duty 
of five per cent, on all merchandise exported from, or im- 
ported into any of the dominions belonging to the crown. 
This was followed by the memorable navigation act of 
Charles II. 

By this act it was decreed, that " no merchandise shall be 
imported into iho plantations, but in English vessels, navi- 
gated by Englishmen, under penalty of forfeiture." And no 
person, from whatever country, unless he had become a natu- 
ralized subject of Great Britain, was allowed to become a mer- 
chant in any English colony. All articles for exportation, 
which were raised in quantities in America only, and would 
not therefore interfere with the sale of English productions 
in their own market, were to be sent exclusively to l^ngland ; 
while, to prevent competition, a market should be found for 



COLONIZATION OP VIRGINIA. 59 

Remonstrances. Manners of living. 

all other articles in ports distant from the mother country. 
The colonists were allowed the exclusive privilege of raising iqqi 
tobacco, its cultivation being prohibited in England and Ire- 
land. 

Restrictions were afterwards laid on trade between the dif- 
ferent colonies, and finally the manufacture of any articles was 
prohibited, which might compete with the English in foreign 
markets. 

This system of commercial monopoly was continued for 
more than a century, and was considered of great advantage 
to England ; but was regarded by the colonists as unjust and 
injurious, and a disposition was evinced to evade it, as far as 
possible. Yet no distrust of the royal power was excited ; 
freedom of trade was the object of their wishes ; and confi- 
dence was still felt in the favor of the king. The assembly 
remonstrated against these oppressions, and petitioned for 
relief; but Charles enforced the acts of parliament, by erect- 
ing forts on the banks of the principal rivers, and sending 
vessels to cruise on the coast. In addition to grievances occa- 
sioned by restrictions on their commerce, Charles made grants 
of land, in violation of those previously made. 

In those days the people lived in great simplicity. They 
were brought up in the freedom of the wilderness, and dwelt 
in cottages scattered along the rivers. No printing press was 
allowed, consequently they had no newspapers, and but few 
books. Education was much neglected. Travelling was 
performed by water, or on horseback through paths in the for- 
est. There were no bridges, and rivers had to be crossed 
either by fording or swimming. The houses were often built 
of logs, with shutters to close the windows, instead of glass. 
A collection of several houses was rarely to be seen ; and 
Jamestown had but a State house, a house for public worship, 



60 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Popular discontent. War with the Indians. 

and eighteen dwellings. The people were widely scattered, 
and rarely met in large numbers. 

Among such a people, the pressure of increasing griev- 
ances began to excite open discontent. Some outbreaks ap- 
peared, which, however, were quickly suppressed by the 
decision of the governor. Yet the people were not satisfied. 
A deputation had been sent to England to endeavor to obtain 
some redress, and after a year's negotiation, intelligence was 
received that it had been unsuccessful. 

•in^K While matters were in this state, the colonists became 
engaged in a war with the Susquehannah Indians Seri- 
ous apprehensions had been excited in the minds of these, 
by the encroachments of the English, who at first had oc- 
cupied only the borders of the bay. By degrees they had 
crossed the mountains and explored the interior. The Indians 
were not disposed to relinquish their right to the homes of their 
fathers, and resisted these aggressions by killing some of the 
whites, who had come in their way. These outrages had been 
avenged by militia stationed on the borders^ and when six of 
the chieftains came as messengers to treat for peace, they were 
treacherously murdered. This again excited the passions of 
the Indians, who were not satisfied until ten English had been 
killed for each of their chiefs. Proposals of peace were then 
renewed by the Susquehannahs and their confederates, but 
were rejected. 

In 1676, a rebellion against the English government broke 
out. The governor was accused of unfaithfulness to the in- 
terests of the colony, in not resisting the oppressions of the 

1676 mother country, and of a want of courage to repel the hostility 
of the savages ; and, notwithstanding his former popularity, 
ho was unable to maintain tranquillity, and for some months 
a civil war raged in Virginia. 



COLONIZATION OF VIRGINIA. 61 

Bacon's insurrection. Order restored. 

Having fled to a remote portion of the colony, Berkeley 1676 
collected some forces, and entered the settlement. Several 
sharp conflicts ensued with various success. Jamestown was 
burned, and either party, as it suited their purpose, laid 
waste cultivated districts of country. Berkeley applied for 
assistance to the king. Charles despatched a squadron, with 
some regular troops, but they did not arrive until order had 
been restored. The death of Nathaniel Bacon^ the leader of 
the insurgents, occasioned the dissolution of the party. With- 
out any choice of a new leader, they laid down their arms, 
and submitted to the government of Berkeley, on condition 
of receiving a general pardon. 

Reinstated in ofiice, the governor called together the repre- 
sentatives of the people. The proceedings of the assembly 
were marked with moderation. The promise of general par- 
don was confirmed, with few exceptions. None were execu- 
ted, a few were fined, and some others were prohibited from 
holding any office of trust. 

The results of Bacon's rebellion were disastrous to Virginia. 
I^Iany lives were lost, and much property was sacrificed ; 
while it did not induce England to relax her restrictions upon 
the commerce of the colony, and furnished an excuse for re- 
fusing a liberal charter. 

Soon after the rebellion, Berkeley returned to England, 
and the authority devolved on JefFrys, the lieutenant gov- 
ernor. Under his administration, peace was concluded with 
the Indians, and notwithstanding the unfavorable circum- 
stances to which the colony was subjected, wealth and popula- 
tion increased. In 1688, at the time of the revolution in the 
British government, which placed William and Mary on the 
throne of England, the number of inhabitants amounted to 
60,000. 



62 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

College of William and Mary founded. Dissenters increase. 

Under the patronage of the new sovereigns, the college of 
William and Mary was founded at Williarasburgh, the second 
institution of the kind established in the country, — Harvard 
University at Boston being the first. Episcopacy continued 
to be the established religion, and each priest was by law 
assigned a salary of sixteen thousand pounds of tobacco. 
Yet dissenters were increasing so rapidly, that before the in- 
dependence of the colonies, they amounted to two-thirds of 
the whole population. The laws against them, though unre- 
pealed, had ceased to be enforced. 



CHAPTER VI. 

COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 



William Clayborne. Lord Baltimore. 

The limits of Virginia iacluded not only all the soil which 
subsequently belonged to Maryland, but extended as far 
north as the Dutch plantations on the Hudson. The country -ir-.^l 
toward the head of the Chesapeake, had been explored, and 
a trade with the Indians commenced, as early as 1621. An 
attempt was made to monopolize this trade, by William Clay- 
borne, who afterwards exerted an injurious influence in the 
now colony. He had come out from England as a surveyor, 
sent by the London Company to make a map of the country, 
and had held important offices in Virginia, till 1G20, when 
he was employed to survey the Chesapeake Bay. The infor- 
mation obtained by him, in the prosecution of this under- 
taking, was the means of forming in England a company for 
trading with the natives. Clayborne obtained in IGol a 
royal license, sanctioning the commerce, and trading estab- 
lishments were formed on Kent Island in the Chesapeake, as 
far north as the present site of Annapolis, and also near the 
mouth of the Susquehannah ; thus extending the limits of 
Virginia towards the boundary of New England. 

But a new government was about to be established on the 
borders of the old colony, under the patronage of the Calvert 
family. Sir George Calvert, afterwards Lord Baltimore, had 
obtained a special patent for the southern promontory of New- 
foundland. He was careful in the selection of emigrants, 



64 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Grant of the province of Maryland to Lord Baltimore. 

earnest to promote habits of order and domestic industry, and 
freely expended his estate in advancing the interests of his 
settlement. But numerous difficulties prevented success. 
The soil and climate were unfavorable^ and there was a con- 
stant dread of attacks from the French, who were settled in 
the vicinity on the main land. This locality was therefore 
abandoned. 

The attention of Lord Baltimore was next turned toward 
Virginia, the climate and soil of which had been so much ex- 
tolled. During the reign of James I, popular feeling against 
the Papists ran high, and Lord Baltimore having embraced their 
belief, received no welcome in a colony with an established 
Protestant religion. The acts of the assembly made it evident 
that he could not peaceably form a distinct settlement under 
the jurisdiction of Virginia. 

He therefore turned his attention to the country beyond 
the Potomac, of which James I once more had the control, 
by the cancelling of the Virginia patents. Calvert, sincere in 
his character, and a man of much moderation, succeeded in 
obtaining a liberal charter, establishing the riglits of the colo- 
nists, as well as the privileges of the proprietary. The ter- 
ritory extended from the Atlantic to the Potomac, from its 
sources to its mouth ; and was bounded on the north by the 
fortieth parallel of north latitude. The name of Maryland 
was given to the province from Henrietta Maria, wife of 
Charles I 

The grant was made to Calvert, his heirs, or assigns, as 
absolute proprietary, to be held by the tenure of fealty only, 
paying a yearly rent of two Indian arrows, and one fifth of all 
the i^old and silver ore whicli niiojht be found. Perfect re- 
ligious freedom was allowed to the colonists ; and Maryland 
was the first State in which this liberty was fully enjoyed ; no 



COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 65 

Death of Lord Baltimore. Roman Catholics sail for Maryland. 

difference being made in the pecuniary, civil or religious rights 
of any English subject. The people of this colony were also 
exempted from British taxation. 

Before the patent was executed, Calvert, then Lord Bal- 
timore, died. His son, Cecil Calvert, the second Lord Bal- 
timore, succeeded him, and became the proprietor of Mary- 
land.* Lord Baltimore, for some reason, abandoned his pur- 
pose of conducting the emigrants in person, and in the au- 
tumn of 1G33; his brother, Leonard Calvert, sailed from Eng- 
land with about two hundred Roman Catholics. Aftei: stop- 
ping some time in the West Indies, they arrived in Virginia, -.noo 
in about three months, where they were well received by the 
governor. 

A site for a plantation was soon selected at an Indian town 
on the St. Mary's river. The natives who resided in that 
district of country, being at enmity with the Susquehannahs, 
a more powerful tribe, were preparing to remove into the in- 
terior. The right to the soil was secured by presents of im- 
plements of husbandry, knives and cloth ; and it was agreed 
that the English might at once occupy one half of their town, 
and the remainder after harvest. Promises of friendship and 
peace were made, and on the twenty-seventh day of Third 
month, (March,) IG34, the emigrants took possession of 
their new home, which they called St. Mary's. The native 
chiefs soon visited them, and were so well received that they 1(334 
entered into a permanent treaty. The Indian women taught 

* Of the founder of this State, Bancroft gives the following charac- 
ter. " Calvert deserves to be ranked among the most wise and benev- 
olent lawgivers of all ages. He was the first in the history of the 
Christian world to seek for religious security and peace by the practice 
of justice, and not by the exercise of power ; to plan the establishment 
of popular institutions with the enjoyment of liberty of conscience ; to 
advance the career of civilization by recognizing the rightful equality 
of all Christian sects." 

6* 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Colony prosperous. DiflSculties with Clay borne. 

the wives of the English to make bread of maize, and the 
men joined the Indians in the chase. The ground being al- 
ready subdued, and Virginia being able to furnish a tempo- 
rary supply of food, no fears of want were felt ; and the colony 
was peacefully and happily commenced, advancing more with- 
in six months, than Virginia had done for some years. The 
proprietary spared neither pains nor expense to promote the 
interests of the settlements, and spent, within two years, up- 
wards of forty thousand pounds sterling. Here the oppressed 
of England found a refuge, whether Papists or Protestants. 

Early in 1635, the first assembly was convened. One of 
the subjects claiming its attention, was the vindication of the 
province against the claims of Clay borne. He had resolved 
to maintain them by force, and a skirmish had taken place 
near the Isle of Kent, in which several lives had been lost. 
Clayborne's men were defeated and taken prisoners ; he fled 
to Virginia, and when demanded by the government of Mary- 
land, was sent with the witnesses to England. 

The next assembly, in 1G38, declared Clayborne a traitor, 
and pronounced his estates forfeited. His attempts to obtain 

1638 I'cdress in England were unsuccessful, and the rights of Lord 
Baltimore wore fully confirmed. 

Meantime tlio spirit of popular liberty in Maryland was ad- 
vancing. The third assembly, which met in 1639, framed a 
declaration of rights, in which they acknowledged their alle- 
giance to the king of England, secured the rights of the pro- 
prietary, and confirmed to the inhabitants of the province, all 

1639 *^^^ I'ig'its of Englishmen. They established for themselves 
a representative government, and asserted, for the assemblies, 
powers similar to those of the British House of Commons. 
Perhaps, with an apprehension of persecution at some future 
period, on account of their religion, at this session they so- 



COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 67 



Insurrection. Freedom of conscience established. 



cured for themselves the right to the tranquil exercise of the 
Romish worship. 

At this time the inhabitants were in the enjoyment of iQ±iy 
much happiness. They had a productive commerce, and a 
fertile soil ; emigration was increasing, and as a testimony of 
gratitude to the proprietary, for his solicitude and interest in 
the welfare of the people, and his protection of their liberties, 
they freely granted such a subsidy as the young and poor es- 
tate of the colony could bear. 

The aborigines, alarmed at the rapid increase of the Euro- 
peans, and instigated to jealousies by Clayborne, commenced 
hostilities. Ever susceptible to kindness, however, peace was 
again established, and the tranquillity of the colony secured 
by the prudent legislation and firm humanity of the govern- 
ment. 

But Clayborne, influenced in part by a conviction of hav- 
ing been wronged, succeeded in exciting a rebellion in 1644, 
among some restless spirits, who, obtaining the ascendency, 
the governor was compelled to fly, and more than a year 
elapsed before he could resume his authority and restore 
order. During this period, most of the public records were 
lost or embezzled. In 1647, peace was established, and an 
amnesty granted to those engaged in the insurrection. 

The influence of the civil wars of England was felt in 
Maryland as well as in the other colonies. When the English 
monarchy was overthrown, and the violent opponents of pa- 
pacy came into power under Cromwell, the rulers of this prov- 
ince began to fear that their own rights might be invaded. 
They determined, therefore, to place upon their statute book a 
law to secure more firmly the freedom of conscience. A lead- 
ing part of this law declared that " No person within this 
province, professing to believe in Jesus Christ, shall bo any 



C8 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Disturbances. Order restored. Prosperity. 

ways troubled, molested or discountenanced for his or her re- 
ligion, or in the free exercise thereof." 

At the time of the difficulties which existed in Virginia, 
during the Protectorate, when commissioners were sent to re- 
duce tlie Virginians to obedience, Clayborne seized the op- 
portunity of exciting fresh troubles in jMaryland, and produced 
a long series of disturbances, which kept the province for 
years in a state of confusion. The deputy of Lord Balti- 
more was frequently deprived of his commission, and those 
who united with him in matters of religion were persecuted 
for their opinions. 
XGGO At length, finding no security but in asserting the power 
of the people, the representatives declared in IGGO their right 
of independent legislation, recognizing no other authority than 
the king of England. The assembly then passed an act 
making it felony to disturb the order they had established. 
Thus tranquillity was restored. 

The population at this time was at least eight thousand. 
They lived principally along the rivers, and had nowhere set- 
tled in a considerable village. The navigation acts checked 
the prosperity of this province, as well as of Virginia ; yet the 
colony increased and flourished. 

At the restoration of Charles IT, the authority of Philip 
Calvert, the deputy of the proprietary, was quietly recog- 
nized. Lord Baltimore lived to see prosperity and happiness 
in Maryland. The persecuted thronged from various coun- 
tries, to the tolerant government which he had established. 
Huguenots from France, other religious sects from Holland, 
Sweden and Finland, found protection there. 

The toleration had been complete, but for the sufferings of 
the Society of Friends. They were not persecuted for their 
religious worship, which was held publicly, and without mo- 



COLONIZATION OF MARYLAND. 69 

Administration of affairs transferred to the Protestants. 

lestation; but their refusal to perform military duty, and to 
take an oath, subjected them to fines and harsh imprisonment. 

Lord Baltimore died in 1675, after a supremacy of more 
than forty-three years. The commercial metropolis of Mary 
land commemorates his name. 

Yet grateful as the people of Maryland had been towards 
the benevolent founder of their colony, his religious opin- 
ions had not spread among the inhabitants generally, neither 
•was a proprietary government in unison with the repub- 
lican feelings which had already become strong in the 
western world. In 1G7G, Charles, the son and heir of the 
proprietary, who had wisely administered the government for 
fourteen years, returned to England, in consequence of the 
death of his father. Symptoms of dissatisfaction had already 
become manifest ; and when, in 167G, the insurrection of Ba- .^^^ 
con broke out in Virginia, the feeling extended to Maryland, 
requiring the prompt energy of the government to preserve 
order. 

After the death of the first Lord Baltimore, efforts were 
made in England, for the establishment of the Episcopal mode 
of worship ; but the present proprietary was inflexible in his 
regard for religious toleration. Yet the differences between 
him and the people increased. The government was accused 
of favoring the Papists. This afforded an opportunity of in- 
terference from England, where it was agreed that the admin- 
istration of affairs should be conducted exclusively by Prot- 
estants ; thus taking all power from those who had established 
the colony, and founded an asylum, not for themselves only, 
but also for the persecuted of other denominations. 

The power of the proprietary could not be maintained 
against the spirit of popular liberty and the attachment of 
the people to Protestantism. The administration of the gov- 



70 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Maryland becomes a royal province. Episcopacy established by law. 

ernment was assumed by an association " for the Defence of 
the Protestant Religion," who, by an address to King William, 
induced him, in 1G91, notwithstanding the remonstrances of 
the proprietary, to constitute Maryland a royal province. 
ipq-j One of the first acts of the assembly, convened under the 
new commission, was to establish Episcopacy by law, to be 
supported by general taxation. The strong opposition 
towards the Papists, felt at this time in England, extended to 
this country, and while religious toleration was granted to all 
Protestant dissenters, it was denied to those by whose liber- 
ality they themselves had been received into the colony ; and 
in 1704, an act was passed prohibiting their form of worship. 

As a royal province, Maryland enjoyed comparative repose. 
The population increased, though not so rapidly as in some of 
the other colonies. Education was neglected. As in Vir- 
ginia, tobacco was the staple production ; hemp and flax 
were also raised, and all were sometimes used as currency. 

In 1715, the proprietary government was restored, and 
continued until the Eevolution. Differences in religious 
opinions, still caused much difficulty ; education continued to 
be neglected, nor was it until the independence of the colo- 
nies was established, that schools and academies began to be 
founded. 



1715 



CHAPTER VII. 

ATTEMPTS TO COLONIZE NEAV ENGLAND. THE 
PILGRIMS. 

Etforts of the Plymouth Company to establish colonies. 

The trading company of the west of England, incorporated 
at the same time with the London Company, under whose 
auspices the first settlements were made in Virginia, were 
unsuccessful in their efforts to establish colonies. The Span 
iards claimed the exclusive risfht of navio;ation in the western 
seas, and captured the first vessel which was sent out. 
Another, however, which sailed nearly at the same time, 
reached America ; and, on their return, the voyagers renewed 
the favorable accounts of the country which had already been 
given. 

The next year, the same in which Jamestown was found- ^^^* 
ed, two ships sailed for Northern Virginia. After a 
tedious voyage, they reached the coast of America, near the 
mouth of the river Kennebec, where they began their settle- 
ment. But the winter was intensely cold ; the natives, at 
first friendly, became restless ; the storehouse caught fire, 
and part of the provisions was consumed ; the colonists lost 
their president, and in 1608, dispirited by the hardships they 
had endured, they returned to England. 

From this period no attempts were made, for a while, to 1608 
establish colonies, although the fisheries and fur trade con- 
tinued to be prosecuted. 

In 1614, Captain John Smith, whose name is so conspicu- 



72 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Charter granted to the Plymouth Company. 

1614 ous in tlie history of Virginia, made a pros}3erous voyage to 
the country north of the lands embraced in the Virginia pa- 
tent. While the rest of the company were engaged in fishing 
or trading, Smith was employed in examining the coast, and 
preparing a map of it from Penobscot to Cape Cod. On his 
return he gave so favorable an account of the country, that 
Prince Charles gave it the name of New England. 

The following year, Smith endeavored, in the employment 
of members of the Plymouth Company, to establish a colony. 
But the vessel in which he and some others had embarked, 
was seized by French pirates, and Smith was taken to Eochelle, 
from which place he made his escape in an open boat. 

1617 Having returned to England, he published his map, and 
a description of New England, and spent many months 
in endeavoring to excite zeal for enterprise in America. 
The attention of the AVestern Company was aroused, and ap- 
plication made for a charter, similar to that possessed by the 
Southern Company. Much difficulty was caused by each of 
these Companies being desirous of engrossing the greater pro- 
portion of the profits to be derived from America ; but after 
two years, a charter was obtained, which incorporated this 
Company as " The Council established at Plymouth, in the 
county of Devon, for the planting, ruling, ordering, and gov- 
erning New England in America." The territory granted 
by the charter, extended from the fortieth to the forty-eighth 
degree of north latitude, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
ocean. This included Canada, of which the French had 
already taken possession, and where they had planted colo- 
nies ; and a country of vast extent to the west, altogether 
comprising much more than a million of square miles. All 
this territory was placed under the absolute control of the 
Company who resided in England. 



ATTEMPTS TO COLONIZE NEW ENGLAND. 73 

Puritans. Independents go to Holland. 

The extent of these powers delayed emigration, through a 
fear of infringing the rights of the Company ; and while 
the English were disputing about charters and commissions, 
the traders of the French nation had been annually sending 
home rich freights of fur. 

In the mean time, the first permanent colony was estab- 
lished without regard to the charter, or without the knowledge 
of the Company. 

At that early period, uniformity of religion was considered 
essential to the well being of society. It was, therefore, ex- 
pected that every sovereign should endeavor to preserve it in 
his dominions. But latterly, free inquiry had received a great 
impulse from the success of Luther and the other reformers ; 
and various sects arose, differing from the established religion. 

Among these, the Puritans desired a thorough reform, and 
to be widely severed from all Roman usages. They were 
strict in their interpretation of Scripture, and rigid in the use 
of the forms they considered there enforced ; while conform- 
ity to the establishment of England was required by the 
government with unrelenting vigor, and their ministers were 
imprisoned, exiled or silenced. As a body, they had avoided 
a separation from " the church ; " they desired a reform, not 
a schism. 

From 1581 to 1583, there grew up among them a class of 
men who carried opposition to the establishment farther than 
had yet been done, and who refused to hold communion with 
a body of which they condemned the ceremonies and the 
government. A small number of these, of the sect afterwards 
called Independents, resolved to seek safety in exile. They 
removed to Leyden, in Holland, where they formed a distinct 
society, with John Robinson as their minister. The depart- 
ure from England was effected with much suffering and 



74 HISTORY OE THE UNITED STATES. 

The Pilgrims desire to leave Holland. 

X608 liazard. The first attempt was prevented, but the design was 
accomplished at night, the following spring, 1608. 

The Pilgrims resided in Leyden eleven years, in great 
harmony, and by their rigid virtues and exemplary deport- 
ment, acquired the respect of the magistrates and citizens. 
But various considerations induced them to leave Holland. 
They had been accustomed to the pursuits of husbandry ; there 
they were compelled to learn mechanical trades. The lan- 
guage of the Dutch never became pleasant or familiar. The 
climate was not congenial, and they feared the contaminating 
influence of the disbanded soldiers upon their children. 
Neither was the desire of becoming the founders of a state 
without its weight, while a deeply seated love of their country, 
made them wish to live once more under the government of 
their native land. 

They therefore sent two of their number to obtain the con- 
sent of the London Company to their emigration to Virginia. 
The messengers of the Pilgrims were favorably received, and 
a tract of land granted them. They also sought the favor of 
the king, but nothino; more could be obtained than an informal 
promise of neglect. 

The Pilgrims were not possessed of sufEcient capital for the 
execution of their plans. Funds were therefore obtained in 
London, by a contract with persons of property there ; yet it 
was on severe terms. The services of each emigrant were 
considered equivalent to a capital of ten pounds, and all profits 
were to be reserved till the expiration of seven years, when 
the land, with all the houses and improvements of the emi- 
grants, was to be divided, according to the respective interests 
of the parties ; so that he who had but risked ten pounds, 
would receive the same amount as he who had encountered 
all the hardships and privations, and given his entire services. 



ATTEMPTS TO COLONIZE NEW ENGLAND. 75 

Sail from Delft-IIaven. x. Anchor near Cape Cod. 

This arrangement, hard as it was, and likely to retard mate- 
rially the prosperity of the colony, did not deter men of 
their determination and energy. 

Two vessels were procured in England. These accom- 1620 
modated but a small proportion of the congregation ; but 
as no others could be obtained either in England or else- 
where, Robinson remained at Leyden with those who 
were left behind, and Brewster, " the teaching elder," ac- 
companied the emigrants. The farewell address of Robinson 
was solemn and impressive, and characteristic of the faith of the 
Pilgrims. Most of the brethren accompanied them from Leyden 
to Delft-Haven, where the night was passed in " friendly and 
christian converse." As morning dawned, Seventh month, 
(July,) 1620, the little band bade farewell to Holland, while 
Robinson knelt in prayer by the seaside. The beginning of 
their voyage was prosperous. They touched at Southampton, 
and in a fortnight afterwards, the Mayflower and the Speed- 
well, freighted with the first New England colony, sailed 
thence for America. But they were obliged to put back 
twice to repair the Speedwell, the smaller of their vessels, and 
finally to abandon her ; such of their company as were dis- 
mayed at the dangers of the enterprise, remaining in 
England. Their numbers being thus lessened, the remain- 
der, men, women and children, in all but one hundred and 
one individuals, sailed in the Mayflower alone, hired only to 
convey them across the Atlantic, on the 6th of Ninth month, 
(Sept.,) 1620, thirteen years after the first colonization of 
Virginia, 

The Pilgrims had selected as the place for their settlement, 
the mouth of the Hudson, the best position on the whole 
coast. But by the ignorance or self-will of their captain, 
they were conducted to the most barren and inhospitable part 



76 HISTORY or THE UNITED STATES. 

Organization. Excursion into the country. 

1620 of Massachusetts, and anchored in the harbor of Cape Cod, 
after a boisterous voyage of sixty-three days. This, they 
•were aware, was beyond the limits of the London Company, 
but winter was approaching, and the hardships of a long 
voyage had rendered them unfit again to put to sea. 

Before landing, the whole body of men, forty-one in num- 
ber, signed a solemn covenant, forming themselves into a 
body politic, for the purpose of making such equal laws for 
the general good of the colony as should, from time to time, 
be thought best. A governor for one year was immediately 
chosen. The suffering and disappointment of the long voyage, 
had wasted their strength, and now, with a scanty supply of 
provisions, they were to commence a winter on this inhospi- 
table shore, with no friendly hand to lend them aid, or bid 
them welcome. The Virginia colony was five hundred miles 
distant, and the nearest French settlement was Port Royal. 
The shallowness of the water obliged them to wade from the 
vessel. This, in inclement weather, laid the seeds of consump- 
tion and inflammatory diseases, which soon carried off many 
of their number. 

The spot for their settlement had not been selected. Their 
vessel needed repairs, and it was sixteen or seventeen days be- 
fore it was ready for service. During this interval, some of 
them determined to explore the country by land. They were 
armed, and meeting with some savages, they followed them ; 
but not laying aside their arms, or manifesting any tokens of 
friendship, the Indians fled. Proceeding further, a heap of sand 
was discovered, which had the appearance of having something 
buried beneath. Here they dug, and discovered a basket 
curiously made, containing three or four bushels of corn. 
Whilst two or three were engaged in this work, the others 
were placed as sentinels. After much consultation, it was 



ATTEMPTS TO COLONIZE NEW ENGLAND. 77 

Aggressions. 

concluded to take as much of the corn as they could carry 1620 
away, together with a ship's kettle, which they had found, be- 
ing prevented by their arras from taking the whole. The lat- 
ter proving heavy, they afterwards sunk it in a pond. The 
corn was delivered into the general store for seed, as they 
knew not how to procure any, and their intentions were to 
make the Indians satisfaction, when they should meet any of 
them. A few days afterwards, they returned to the place 
where they had left the corn, and, proceeding a little further, 
more corn, and some other provisions were found, buried in 
the same way, which the party seem unscrupulously to have 
appropriated to themselves, saying in excuse, " Sure, it was 
God's providence that we found this corn ; " without reflect- 
ing that they had thus deprived the Indians of a part of their 
winter's store. Further search led to a burial-place. One 
of the graves they resolved to open. A variety of articles 
were bound up with the body ; some of the most attractive of 
these, they carried away, after re-covering the body. They 
also entered some houses, the occupants being absent, and 
took possession of whatever they fancied.* The Indians were 
afterwards offered some payment for the corn taken from their 
granaries, although it does not appear that any satisfaction 
was made for their other depredations. It is no matter of sur- 
prise that the impressions of the Indians were unfavorable 
towards those who had thus come among them. 

The repairs of the vessel being completed, it was sent out 
to sail round the bay in pursuit of a location for the settlement. 
The first expedition was unsuccessful ; another attempt was 
made. The cold was severe; the spray of the sea froze as it 

* See *' Relation or Journal of the Beginning and Proceedings of the 
English Plantation, settled at Plimouth, in New England," etc., etc., 
said to have been written by Wm. Bradford and Edward Winslow. 



78 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Land on Plymouth rock. Ilardships. Mortality. 

fell on the deck and ripjojinoj of the vessel. Part of the com- 
pany travelled at times along the shore, where they were sur- 
prised by a war-whoop and flight of arrows from some Indians, 
who instantly disappeared on the discharge of the muskets. 
After three days' searching, during which they encountered 
much danger from a storm and from shoals, which the ves- 
sel narrowly escaped, they reached at night a small island. 
It was dark and rainy, yet a landing was effected. The next 
day being the first of the week, or " Christian Sabbath," all 
arrangements were deferred. On the day following. Twelfth 
month, (Dec.) 11th, 1620, they sounded the harbor, and found 
it fit for shipping. The party then selected a spot on the 
main land, favorable for a settlement, and in a few days, the 
Mayflower, with the rest of the emigrants, cast anchor in the 
harbor. In grateful recollection of the kindness they had re- 
ceived at the port in England whence they sailed, the Pil- 
grims gave the place the name of Plymouth. 

On the 20th the whole party landed on Plymouth rock. 
It was in the depth of winter ; their stock of provisions was 
small, and they were suffering from colds and fevers. This 
was the feeble commencement of New England, with its pres- 
ent millions^ and of New England institutions. 

After some days, the new settlers began to build ; but be- 
ing delayed by frost and stormy weather, they could seldom 
work half the week. Various hardships and exposures les- 
sened their numbers through the winter, and it was not until 
1621 the spring was far advanced, that the mortality began to 
cease. Half of them had perished by disease, and those in 
health had not been sufficient to take care of the sick. Carver, 
the governor, was of the number swept away ; Wm. Bradford 
was appointed in his stead. 

The sickness subsided in summer, but want and privation 



ATTEMPTS TO COLONIZE NEW ENGLAND. 79 

Trade with the Indians commenced. 

remained ; and the arrival of additional emigrants in the au- 
tumn, who came without any supply of provisions, increased 
the scarcity of food. At times, the colonists were dependent 
for subsistence on the benevolence of fishermen off the coast. 

The agreement made by the Pilgrims with the merchants 
of London, was calculated to protract the time of scarcity. 
It required a community of property. Individual interest 
being thus destroyed, there were many idlers to be supported 
by the industrious, as the law could not compel regular labor ; 
want consequently continued. In the spring of 1623, after 
an experiment of more than two years, the colonists ventured 
to vary from the agreement, each family being allowed a piece 
of ground to cultivate for themselves. Before long, sufficient 
corn was raised for trade with the Indians ; and European 
manufactures, trinkets, etc., were exchansfed for furs. The 
commerce with the Indians, thus established, soon became 
more profitable than any other pursuit. The natives, being 
fond of the chase, were quite willing to leave the cultivation 
of the soil to those who could furnish them a supply of agri- 
cultural products. 

The Indians were not numerous in the neighborhood of 
Plymouth. Before the arrival of the English, a sweeping 
pestilence had carried off whole tribes. Yet the colonists 
formed a military organization, and about ten days after get- 
ting on shore, they were engaged in constructing a fortifica- 
tion to protect themselves from those whose houses they had 
pillaged, whose burial-places they had disturbed. Dangers, 
however, were not at hand. The character of the Indian is 
not aggressive, and where the natives have been treated with 
uniform kindness, the peace has not been broken. Their de- 
portment was now at first hospitable and conciliatory. 

In the spring of 1621, a treaty of friendship was made with 



80 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Treaty with the ludiaus. Settlers at Weymouth. 

1621 ^^^ tnha of Wampanoags, memorable in the history of New 
England, possessing the country north of Narragansett Bay. 
Samoset, one of their number, visited the colonists, and bade 
them welcome. He gave them permission to occupy the soil, 
which there were none of the original owners alive to claim. 
Soon afterwards Massasoit, the sachem of the tribe, and king 
of the Pokanoket confederacy, came to visit the Pilgrims, who, 
with their wives and children, were now reduced in number 
to fifty. A treaty of friendship was soon completed, which 
bound also all the confederates of the chief. This alliance was 
desired by Massasoit, the powerful Narragansetts being his 
enemies ; while the emigrants secured a lucrative commerce. 
The influence of the English over the aborigines, was ex- 
tending ; and nine chieftains were induced to acknowledge 
the authority of King James. Canonicus, chief of the Narra- 
gansetts, had at one time desired to treat of peace ; but after- 
wards sent a bundle of arrows, wrapped in the skin of a rattle- 
snake, as emblematic of his feelings toward them. The 
colonists showed themselves determined to avenge even a 
threatened injury, and Bradford the governor returned the 
skin, filled with powder and shot. 

The prospect of gain by the fur trade, induced an applica- 
tion from a merchant of London, for a grant of land on Mas- 
sachusetts Bay, which was obtained, and a company of sixty 
men was sent over, who settled at Weymouth. They were 
idle and dissolute, and depended for support for some months, 
on the industry of their neighbors of Plymouth. By their 
unjust treatment of the Indians, they provoked hostility, and 
finally exasperated them so much, that a plot was formed for 
the destruction of all the English. Massasoit, who proved 
himself the friend of the Piltrrims, disclosed the design to 
them ; and the planters at Weymouth were saved, though not 



ATTEMPTS TO COLONIZE NEW ENGLAND. 81 

Destruction of the plantation. New settlements. 

without the loss of some life on the part of the Indians. A 1^22 
small number of men, who were sent from Plymouth to their 
assistance, being threatened by the natives, attacked them, 
killed several, and put the rest to flight. The plantation 
was broken up in less than one year from its commencement ; 
most of the men returned to England, and a few went to Ply- 
mouth. 

The partnership formed by the Pilgrims with the mer- 
chants in England, proved disadvantageous in many ways. 
Robinson and his friends in Leyden were very desirous of 
joining their brethren in America, but the English partners 
refused to provide them a passage, hoping thus to force on 
the emigrants, a preacher whose doctrines were more in accord- 
ance with those of the establishment of England. Divisions 
were the consequence ; until the merchants, discouraged by 
the small returns from their investments, lost their interest in 
the colony. They even attempted to injure its commerce, 
and goods which were sent to them, were sold at an enormous 
advance. At last the emigrants succeeded in purchasing the 
rights of the English adventurers ; thus relieving themselves 
from debt and its unpleasant consecjuences. 

The colony was now firmly established, yet its progress 
was slow. At the end of ten years, its population was but 
three hundred. The settlements had, however, been ex- 
tended, and trading stations established in various places, one 
of them as far east as the Kennebec. 

Eobinson did not live to reach Plymouth, but died in Ley- 
den. His family, with the rest of those who remained behind, 
emigrated, as soon as means could be provided to defray the 
expenses of the voyage. 

No charter from the king was ever obtained for the Pil- 
grims. The frame of their government, adopted without his 



82 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Form of government. 

sanction, was simple and republican. The governor was 
elected by the people ; his authority was restricted by a coun- 
cil of five, and afterwards of seven assistants. For eighteen 
years, the legislature was composed of all the men of the col- 
ony ; after which, the increase of population, and the exten- 
sion of territory, led to the introduction of the representative 
system. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

FURTHER COLONIZATION OF NEW ENGLAND. 
Grants of land by the Plymouth Company. 

The old Plymouth Company, whose extensive and very ex- 
clusive charter has already been mentioned, had made little 
use of its great privileges, except by attempting to exclude 
from the trade and fisheries, all who would not pay the Com- 
pany a heavy tax. This monopoly was much opposed in the 
House of Commons. The Company continued, however, to 
issue grants of land, many of them productive of no perma- 
nent settlement. Sir Ferdinand Gorges, the most energetic 
member of the Council of Plymouth, with John Mason, who 
had been governor of a plantation on Newfoundland, took a 
patent for the country extending from the sea to the St. Law- 
rence, and from the Merrimac to the Kennebec. A com- 
pany was formed, under whose auspices Portsmouth and Dover 1623 
were settled in 1623, being among the oldest towns in New 
England. But their progress was very slow ; thirty years 
afterward, Portsmouth contained not more than sixty fam- 
ilies. 

Rude shelters of fishermen began to be scattered along the 
coast, but, intent only on their immediate object, the cultiva- 
tion of the soil was scarcely attempted ; and it is difficult to 
ascertain the exact time when permanent settlements were 
made. These were first established at the mouths of the 
rivers, with a view to commerce, and not to agriculture. 

Patents were granted, and efforts made to plant colonies in 



1627 



1628 



84 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Keligious persecution in England. Endicott's company. 

Maine. But fishing and trading in lumber were found to be 
more profitable than the cultivation of the soil, and the settlers 
scattered themselves along the coast, independently of one 
another. 

While the settlement of New England was thus very slowly 
extending, religious persecution continued to prevail in Eng- 
land. The number of Puritans increased, while the suffer- 
ings they endured tended but to confirm their faith ; and the 
religious liberty to be enjoyed in the new world, invited them 
to seek an asylum there. 

In 1627, a body of them, residing in the vicinity of Dor- 
chester, concluded a treaty with the Plymouth Company, for 
the purchase of the territory lying between the Charles river 
and the Merrimack, and extending three miles south of the 
former and north of the latter, and from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific Ocean. In the following year, a small company went 
out, under the direction of John Endicott, and laid the foun- 
dation of Salem. 

A charter was soon after obtained from the crown, confirm- 
ing the grant of the Plymouth Company. By it the associ- 
ation was constituted a corporation, with the title of " The 
Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay in New Eng- 
land." The ofiicers of the government were to be a governor, 
deputy governor, and eighteen assistants, the latter to be 
elected by the corporation. The colonists were to be released 
from taxes and duties, and considered entitled to the privi- 
leges of English citizens. No law was to be made opposed 
to any law of England. 

The charter was received early in the spring. Preparations 
were immediately made for the embarkation of new emigrants ; 
and near the middle of summer, 1620, about two hundred 
arrived at Salem, which, at that time, consisted of but a 
few small tciiements, with bome cornfields atlached. 



FURTHER COLONIZATION OF NEW ENGLAND. 85 



Sufferings of the Massachusetts colony. John VVinthrop. 

Not satisfied with the situation of the place, one hundred of 1629 
the party laid the foundation of Charlestown, both settle- 
ments being united under the same government. Their or- 
ganization as a religious body was one of the first objects of 
the new comers, and was soon effected. 

The ensuing winter was a season of severe distress from 
the intensity of the cold, the incomplete state of their houses, 
and the want of sufficient food. These causes produced dis- 
ease and death. Before spring, almost half the emigrants 
died. 

In 1629, it was agreed by the Company, that the govern- 
ment of the colony should be confided to those freemen who 
would themselves reside there. This provision induced many 
to emigrate. In the course of the year 1630, seventeen vessels 
conveyed about fifteen hundred emigrants to a home in the 
new world. The excellent John ^Yinthrop was appointed 1630 
governor, and a complete board of assistants chosen. But as 
the time for leaving drew near, one after another became dis- 
couraged by the danger of the undertaking, and others had to 
be provided to supply their places. The mildness and energy 
of Winthrop encouraged his companions, and he afterwards 
proved himself ready to sacrifice his own comfort for their 
sakes. About eight hundred embarked with him. They were 
Puritans ; among them were men of education and fortune. 
They took with them the charter, the basis of their liberties, 
and before leaving England, publishe-i the reasons for their 
removal, which were various. 

On their arrival in the summer, they encountered a scene 
of gloom and desolation. Those who had survived the suffer- 
ings of the winter were enfeebled and sickly ; their pro- 
visions were nearly exhausted, and they were soon entirely 
dependent for subsistence on those who had newly arrived. 



86 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



Boston commenced. Hardships. 

The bay and adjacent rivers were examined for places of 
settlement, and Boston and some of the neighboring villages 
•were commenced. The work of building progressed slowly ; 
sickness and death often arrested the exertions of the emi- 
grants. They had various hardships to endure ; many who 
had been accustomed to plenty and ease, sank under priva- 
tion. Before the end of summer, about one hundred, becom- 
ing disheartened by the misery around them, left their fellow 
sufferers, and returned to England. By the beginning of 
winter, two hundred had died. 

The hope of better times did not forsake the survivors ; but 
many in England were deterred, who would otherwise have 
come over ; and for two years afterwards, fresh accessions to 
their number did not often cheer the colonists. Only between 
three and four hundred arrived during that period. It was 
also feared that their charter would be withdrawn, and their 
liberties thus circumscribed. 

At the general court, convened in Boston in the spring of 
1631, it was agreed, in order that " the body of the commons 
may be preserved of honest and good men," " that for the 
•'•"^■^ time to come, no man shall be admitted to the freedom of this 
body politic, but such as are members of some of the churches 
within the limits of the same." This law has been severely 
censured, and it produced much dissension in the colony. It 
was not, however, inconsistent with the spirit of the age ; and, 
with a charter which placed these matters entirely under the 
control of the colonists, they expected, in the fervor of their zeal, 
that all who migrated should immediately join their standard. 
These feelings led to the development of that persecuting 
spirit, which the history of New England sorrowfully unfolds. 

About this time, relations of friendship began to be estab- 
lished with the natives, the different tribes desiring to make 



FURTHER COLONIZATION OP NEW ENGLAND. 87 ■ 

House of Representatives. Roger Williams. 

allies of the English, in the hope of being protected against 
their enemies. These were mostly at some distance, a pesti- 
lence having swept over this district of country, a few years 
previously ; and the small-pox, introduced by the English, had 
more recently destroyed many of the survivors. 

Some intercourse was kept up with the earlier English set- 
tlements, and when the governor of Massachusetts visited 
Plymouth, for the sake of confirming friendship with the Pil- 
grims, the journey was performed on foot. Trade had been 
commenced with the Dutch on the Hudson river, and also 
with the settlers on the Chesapeake. 

Circumstances now being more favorable, new emigrants 
were induced to embark. In 1633, two hundred arrived 
after a long voyage; among them two "revered spiritual 
teachers," Cotton and Hooker, men of great endowments. 

As the number of settlements increased, inconvenience 
arose by the assembling of all the freemen for the administra- 
tion of the government. In 1634, deputies to the general 1(531 
court were chosen, who were invested with all the power which 
had previously belonged to the whole body. These were to 
assemble four times a year, and they constituted the second 
instance of a House of Kepresentatives in America. 

One of the most remarkable of those who found their way 
to the colony, was Roger Williams; "a young minister, 
godly and zealous, having precious gifts." He was a Puri- 
tan, one who had fled from persecution in England ; and 
although but little more than thirty years of age, his mind 
had become enlightened beyond most of his cotemporaries. 
He had studied the nature of intolerance, and had arrived at 
the great truth, which would put an end to all persecution, 
that the civil magistrate in the performance of his duties, 
should restrain crime by the punishment of guilt, but should 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Roger Williams. 



never attempt to influence opinions. This doctrine rendered 
"Williams obnoxious to the magistrates. 

The account given by Bancroft of this enlightened and amia- 
ble man, is so well suited to the purpose of this work, that 
parts of it are copied entire. 

"In the unwavering assertion of his views, Williams never 
changed his position ; the sanctity of conscience was the 
great tenet, which, with all its consequencOxS, he defended, as 
he first trod the shores of New England ; and in his extreme 
old age, it was the last pulsation of his heart. But it placed 
the young emigrant in direct opposition to the whole sys- 
tem on which Massachusetts was founded ; and gentle and 
forgiving as was his temper, prompt as he was to concede 
every thing which honesty permitted, he always asserted his 
belief with temperate firmness and unbending benevolence." 

*' He had written an essay on the nature of the tenure by 
which the colonists held their land in America ; and he had 
argued that an English patent could not invalidate the rights 
of the native inhabitants. The opinion sounded at first like 
treason against the cherished charter of the colony," but, on 
the explanation of Williams, the court became more sat- 
isfied. 

** But the principles of Roger Williams led him into perpet- 
ual collision with the clergy and the government of Massachu- 
setts. It had ever been their custom to respect the Church of 
England, and in the mother country, they frequented its ser- 
vice without scruple ; yet its principles and its administration 
were still harshly exclusive. Williams would hold no com- 
munion with intolerance ; for, said he, * the doctrine of per- 
secution for cause of conscience, is most evidently and 
lamentably contrary to the doctrine of Christ Jesus.' The 
magistrates insisted on the presence of every man at public 
worship ; Williams reprobated the law.'' 



FURTHER COLONIZATION OF NEW ENGLAND. 89 

Roger Williams, Banishment. Leaves Salem. 

*' But the controversy finally turned on the question of the 1634 
rights and duty of magistrates to guard the minds of the peo- 
ple against corruption, and to punish what would seem to 
them eiror and heresy. Magistrates, Williams asserted, are 
but the agents of the people, or its trustees, on whom no spir- 
itual power, in matters of worship, can ever be conferred ; 
since conscience belongs to the individual, and is not the prop- 
erty of the body politic." 

The independence of Williams gave great offence to the 
magistrates. He was summoned to appear before the repre- 
sentatives of the State. There he reiterated his convictions, 
and expressed his readiness to be imprisoned, banished or 1635 
even to suffer death, rather than to " renounce the opinions 
which had dawned upon his mind in the clearness of light." 

The sentence of exile was pronounced against him, yet 
not by a large majority ; and was vindicated on the ground 
that the application of the new doctrine, " to the construc- 
tion of the patent, to the discipline of the churches," and to 
the oath for trying the fidelity of the people, which Williams 
had opposed, seemed about to subvert the government of the 
country. 

As winter was approaching, permission was granted him 
to remain until spring ; but the people of Salem gave such 
strong evidence of their attachment to him, that the govern- 
ment thought it dangerous for him to remain where any influ- 
ence could be exerted. It was therefore concluded to send 
him to England. But when the officers were sent for him, he 
was not to be found. He had left Salem, in the severity of 
winter, and for fourteen weeks he knew not where to find 
a home. " Often in the stormy night, he had neither [fire, 
nor food, nor company ; often he wandered without a guide, 
and had no house but a hollow tree. But he was not 



90 HISTORY OF THE UIVITED STATES. 

Befriended by the Indians. Founds Providence. 

without friends. The same scrupulous respect for the rights 
of others, which had led him to defend freedom of con- 
science, had made him also the champion of the Indians. 
He had already been zealous to acquire their language, and 
knew it so well that he could debate with them in their own 
dialect. During his residence at Plymouth, he had often 
been the guest of the neighboring sachems, and now, when he 
came in winter to the cabin of the chief of Pokanoket, he was 
welcomed by Massasoit ; and ' the barbarous heart of Canon- 
icus, the chief of the Narragansetts, loved him as his son to 
the last gasp.' ' The ravens,' he relates with gratitude, 
* fed me in the wilderness.' And in requital for their hos- 
pitality, he was ever through his long life, their friend and 
benefactor ; the apostle of Christianity to them without hire, 
without weariness, and without impatience at their idolatry ; 
the guardian of their rights ; the pacificator, when their rude 
passions were inflamed ; and their unflinching advocate and 
protector, whenever Europeans attempted an invasion of their 
rights;" and he affirms, that in all his intercourse with them, 
he never found one native American who denied the exist- 
ence of a God. 

Roger Williams found the Narragansetts at enmity with 
Massasoit, sachem of the Wampanoags. By his intervention 
and judicious management, he succeeded in restoring peace 
between them. 

When the spring opened, Williams selected a spot for 
1636 l^uilding, which proved to be within the patent for Ply- 
mouth. This, therefore, was relinquished, and with five 
companions he proceeded a little farther where he could be 
entirely independent, and, in token of humble reliance on 
divine protection, he called the place Providence, intending 
to found a shelter for those who were pcisecuted for their 



FURTHER COLONIZATION OF NEW ENGLAND. 91 

Increased emigration. 

religion. Thus commenced the State of Rhode Island. Here 
some of his friends followed him, and in the course of two 
years, many had fled to the asylum thus originated. 

The place where Williams had settled, was within the ter- 
ritory of the Narragansett Indians ; and it was not long before 
a deed from their chiefs conveyed to him a considerable ex- 
tent of country. 

In the conduct of the founder of Rhode Island towards his 
persecutors, may be seen an exemplification of the forgiving 
spirit of Christianity. Roger Williams never harbored feel- 
ings of revenge. On the contrary, he was ever ready to 
show kindness towards those who had treated him with so 
much intolerance. 

The first difficulties havins been surmounted in the settle- 
ment of New England, the liberties to be enjoyed induced 
many others to seek there a home. New settlements were 
therefore formed. The town of Concord was commenced 
about this time by a party who made its way through the 
woods along Indian paths. 

In 1635, three thousand new settlers were added to the 
Massachusetts colony. Among them was Henry Vane, the 
younger, a man of high rank, represented to have been of 
pure mind and spotless integrity. He was soon elected gov- 
ernor ; but, although a man of great talent, his residence in 
the country had not been long enough to enable him proper- 
ly to fulfil the duties of the office. 

Soon after his arrival proposals were received from other 
men of elevated rank, to remove to Massachusetts, if they 
could retain their hereditary dignity. A proposition so in- 
consistent with the spirit of republicanism, was considered, 
but declined. 

Soon after the exnulsion of Roojer Williams, relidous dis- 



1635 



92 HISTORY OF TUE UNITED STATES. 

New religious dissensions. Anne Hutchinson. 

sensions again involved the colony in much difficulty. An- 
other party arose, differing in some respects from the Puri- 
tans, and contending for freedom of religious opinion. Every 
man, said they, should act according to the dictates of his 
own conscience. The founder of this party was Anne Hutch- 
inson, a woman of eloquence and ability, whose influence 
was extending to such a degree that the clergy became 
alarmed. John Wheelwright, her brother, and Henry Yane, 
governor of the colony, favored the new opinions. 

The subject assumed a high degree of political importance. 
The general court censured Wheelwright for sedition. This 

1637 measure set the parties still further at variance. The dispute 
infused its spirit into every thing, and interfered with the 
administration of the government, until finally the magis- 
trates concluded that the preservation of the peace demanded 
the suppression of the new party ; and they proceeded to 
pass sentence on some of the most prominent members. 

Anne Hutchinson and Wheelwright were exiled from 
Massachusetts ; and their adherents, who, it was thought, 
were ready to rebel against the authority of the colonial gov- 
ernment, were required to deliver up their arms. 

Wheelright and his particular friends removed to the banks 
of the Piscataqua, and founded the town of Exeter. The 
larger proportion of the party, proceeding southward, were 

1638 invited by Roger Williams to settle in his vicinity ; and 
through his influence, and that of Henry Vane, the Nar- 
ragansetts granted to them the island of Rhode Island. 

Thus the intolerance of Massachusetts became the indirect 
means of extending the settlement of New England ; while 
the persecution of the new party did not lessen their deter- 
mination to uphold the right of conscience. Henry Vane 
having witnessed the exile of those whose views accorded with 
his own, soon after returned to England. 



SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT. 93 

Distinct settlements. Emigration from Massachusetts. 

SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT. 

The beauty and fertility of the valley of the Connecticut, 
had before this begun to attract attention, as well as the ad- 
vantages which it possessed for an internal trade in furs. The 
first proprietary, under the Plymouth council, had assigned 
his grant to Lord Say and Seal, Lord Brooke, and some 
others, in 1631. Before they had established any colony, a 
trading house at Windsor had been built by the people of 
Plymouth in 1633, and a profitable trade in furs commenced. 
Emigrants from the neighborhood of Boston had begun the 
settlement of Wethersfield, and the Dutch from Manhattan 
had made a station at Hartford, in the same year, under the 
name of Good Hope. 

In 1635, the younger Winthrop, son of the governor of 
Massachusetts, was sent from England by the proprietaries, to 
erect a fort at the mouth of the Connecticut, and thus en- 
force their claim to the territory. This purpose was accom- 
plished, and the fort was called Say brook from the united 
names of the proprietaries. 

In the autumn of the same year, a company of about sixty 
from the Massachusetts colony, began their journey to the 
valley of the Connecticut. 

But it was too late in the season, and much suffering, pri- 1636 
vation and hardship were encountered. Early in the next 
year, 1636, the same in which Boger Williams settled Provi- 
dence, a government was organized under a commission from 
Massachusetts, and the first openings of spring were the sig- 
nals for preparations to depart. The arrangements being 
completed, early in summer, the company, consisting of about 
a hundred, with their wives and children, many of whom had 
been accustomed to affluence and ease in England, began their 



94 IIISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Danger from the Indians. 

1636 journey, led by Thomas Hooker, with no guide but a com- 
pass ; and driving their cattle before them, they pursued their 
march through the trackless wilderness, advancing about ten 
miles a day, and not allowing the swamps or streams they en- 
countered to intercept their progress. 

Two distinct claims were already made to the tract, each 
party entirely regardless of the only rightful owners of the 
soil ; one by the Dutch, who indulged a hope of dispossessing 
the English ; the other by Lord Say and Seal, and Lord 
Brooke, who had taken possession by building a fort at the 
mouth of the river. 

The new colony had dangers to encounter from savage war- 
fare. The rapid progress of the English settlements alarmed 
the native inhabitants. They had welcomed without fear the 
emigrants who first landed; but the experience of a few 
years convinced them that the extermination of their entire 
race would be the consequence of their permitting Europeans 
to spread over the continent. 

In no part of New England were the aborigines more nu- 
merous than in Connecticut. Within the boundaries of that 
colony lived the powerful Pequods. Although friendly at 
first, they began to manifest hostile intentions, and proposed 
to their enemies, the Narragansetts, that old animosities be- 
tween them should be forgotten, and that their united 
strength should be directed against the invaders, before they 
had become too strong to be resisted. 

The design had become known to Roger Williams, who 
immediately communicated the intelligence to the governor of 
Massachusetts. The known friendship of Williams for the 
Indians was such, that it was thought he alone might be able 
to frustrate it. Having received letters from the governor and 
council, requesting his intervention in the case, he, who had 



SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT. '95 

Intervention of Roger Williams. The Pequods. 

bieen persecuted, exiled, driven from home in the midst of a 
severe winter, was now willing to risk his own life to save his 
persecutors. There was no time to be lost. Starting alone 
in a poor canoe, in the midst of a storm of wind, and with a 
tumultuous sea, in constant danger of being overturned, he 
proceeded to the house of the sachem of the Narragansetts. 
The Pequod ambassadors had already arrived. For three days 
did this devoted man remain in this perilous situation, when 
he succeeded in breaking up the conspiracy ; thus affording 
another evidence that the Indians could be won by kindness, 
and that faithfulness to their friends formed a part of their 
character. Had the system of Roger Williams towards the 
aboriginal inhabitants of this country been invariably pursued, 
where would have been the cruel and bloody wars with the 
Indians, which now stamp with blackness the page of our his- 
tory? 

Although the Narragansetts had withdrawn, the Pequods 
were unwilling to desist, and, enraged at the disappointment, 
resolved to contend alone with the English. Their warriors 
occupied two fortified stations, against one of which, a force 
of ninety Connecticut men made an attack. About day- 
break they approached the encampment, and found the In- 
dians sleeping without apprehension, it having been rumored 
among them, that the English had retired through fear ; and, 
but for the barking of a dog, they would have been destroyed 
without resistance. The war-whoop was instantly sounded, 
and a strong defence made. The superiority of numbers 
gave them some chance of escape, until firebrands being cast 
upon the cabins, the whole encampment was soon in a blaze. 
Those who attempted to escape, were cut down by the English, 
and four hundred of the Indians, men, women and children, 
perished, most of them in the flames. In an hour the work 
of destruction was finished. 



1637 



96 HISTORY OF THE UiNITED STATES. 

Pequod war. New Haven colony. 

Incredible as it may seem to those who regard the Chris- 
tian religion as emphatically a religion of peace, mercy and 
love to enemies, we are told that the English spent the night 
before their march on this merciless errand, in "importunate 
prayer!" 

The resistance the colonists met with after this was incon- 
siderable. The Indians were not formidable in open battle. 
It has belonged to civilization to invent instruments potent 
for the destruction of human life. It was the ambush, the 
secret surprise of the Indian, that was mainly to be dreaded. 

"In a few days," says Bancroft, " the troops from Massa- 
chusetts arrived, attended by Wilson ; for the ministers 
alwaj^s shared every hardship, and every danger. The rem- 
nants of the Pequods were pursued into their hiding places ; 
every wigwam was burned, every settlement was broken up, 
every cornfield laid waste. Sassachus, their sachem, was 
murdered by the Mohawks, to whom he had fled for protection. 
The few that survived, about two hundred, surrendering in 
despair, were enslaved by the English," or, dispersing them- 
selves amono; the neioihborino; tribes, lost their existence as a 
separate people. The depopulated territory was claimed by 
right of conquest. The destruction of the Pequods struck terror 
mto the remaining tribes, and a long season of peace suc- 
ceeded, during which the colonies increased and flourished. 

The arrival of fresh emigrants was of frequent occurrence, 
and many new settlements were formed. In 1638, a Puri- 
tan colony was planted at New Haven, and annually elected 
a governor, independently of any other settlements. They 
obtained a title to the land by a treaty with the natives. 
This formed the third distinct political organization within the 
limits of the present State of Connecticut ; the two others 



SETTLEMENT OF CONNECTICUT. 97 

Saybrook. Connecticut colony. 

being Saybrook, founded by the proprietaries, and Connecti- 
cut colony, under a commission from Massachusetts.* 

* The following are some of the most striking of the laws which 
were passed by the New Haven dominion at an early period of its his- 
tory, and being originally printed on blue paper, they were called 
" Blue Laws." They may serve to give the reader some idea of the 
character and manners of the people of those early times. 

" No one shall be a freeman, or give a vote, unless he be converted, 
and a member in full communion of one of the churches allowed in 
this dominion. Each freeman shall swear by the blessed God to bear 
true allegiance to this dominion, and that Jesus is the only king. No 
Quaker, or dissenter from the established worship of this dominion, 
shall be allowed to give a vote for the election of magistrates or any 
officer. No food or lodging shall be oifered to any Quaker, Adamite 
or other heretic. If any person turns Quaker, he shall be banished, 
and not suffered to return but on pain of death. No one shall run on 
the Sabbath day, or walk in his garden, or elsewhere, except rever- 
ently to and from meeting. No one shall travel, cook victuals, make 
beds, sweep houses, cut hair, or shave, on the Sabbath day. No woman 
shall kiss her children on the Sabbath or fasting day. The Sabbath 
shall begin at sunset on Saturday. A person accused of trespass 
in the night, shall be judged guilty, unless he clears himself by his 
oath. When it appears that the accused has confederates, and he 
refuses to discover them, he may be racked. Whosoever publishes a 
lie, to the prejudice of his neighbor, shall be set in the stocks, or be 
whipped ten stripes. No minister shall keep a school. Men-stealers 
shall suffer death. Whosoever wears clothes trimmed with gold, sil- 
ver, or bone lace, above 2s. per yard, shall be presented by the grand 
jurors ; and the selectmen shall tax the offender at £300 estate. No 
one shall read common-prayer books, keep Christmas or set days, 
make minced-pies, dance, play cards, or play on any instrument of 
music, except the drum, trumpet, and Jews-harp. When parents re- 
fuse their children convenient marriages, the magistrates shall de- 
termine the point. The selectmen, on finding children ignorant, may 
take them away from their parents, and put them into better hands, 
at the expense of their parents. A man that strikes his wife, shall 
pay a fine of ten pounds. A woman that strikes her husband, shall be 
punished as the court directs. No man shall court a maid in person, 
or by letter, without first obtaining the consent of her parents ; £5 
penalty for the first offence, £10 for the second, and for the third, 



98 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Blue laws of Connecticut. 

imprisonment during the pleasure of the court. Married persons must 
live together or be imprisoned. Every male shall have his hair cut 
round according to a cap." — Hutchinson's Hist, Mass. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 
Bold measures of Massachusetts. 

The increase of the American colonies had attracted con- 
siderable attention in England. While the emigrants were 
wasting away by the hardships they endured, there was no 
inducement to interfere with them. But now the success of 
the Puritans in the new world, excited opposition from the 
high church party, and rendered them not unwilling to listen 
to unfavorable reports brought by those who had returned, 
after having fallen under the censure of the government in 
Massachusetts. 

It was said that the colonists aimed at sovereignty, and 
that it was accounted treason to speak of appeals to the king. 
A requisition was therefore made for producing the letters 
patent of the company, in England. To this the colonists re- 
turned no reply. The archbishop of Canterbury, and others 
associated with him, then received full power to regulate the 
civil and ecclesiastical affairs of the colonies, and to revoke 
any charter which had been unfairly obtained, or which had 
conceded liberties prejudicial to the royal prerogative. 

The news of this commission soon reached Boston, and it 
was rumored that a governor-general was on his way. The 
intelligence led to the boldest measures. Money was raised 
for erecting fortifications ; the colonists resolved on resistance, 
and unanimously declared against the reception of a governor- 
general. 



100 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Emigration forbidden in England. 

Meantime restraints were placed on emigration, and ships 
laden with passengers for New England, were stopped in the 
Thames by order of the council. No one above the rank of 
a serving-man, was allowed to emigrate, and all such were re- 
quired to take the oaths of supremacy and allegiance. 

The council of Plymouth, having made grants to its 
1635 members individually, of all the land under its jurisdic- 
tion, including that occupied by the Massachusetts col- 
ony, now resigned its charter, which had thus been rendered 
valueless. It was more difficult for the different parties to 
obtain possession of the lands thus granted them. They 
argued, however, that the lands belonged to Gorges, one of 
the proprietaries of New Hampshire, by a deed previously 
granted, and therefore that to the Massachusetts company 
was invalid. The effort was consequently made by the mem- 
bers of the Plymouth Company to obtain from the king a con- 
firmation of their respective grants. They succeeded in 
obtaining a quo warranto^ against the company of Massa- 
chusetts Bay ; but further movements in opposition to the 
colony, were suspended, in consequence of the civil difficul- 
ties in England, as well as by the death of Mason, one of the 
proprietaries of New Hampshire, wlio had been the chief in- 
stigator of these aggressive movements. 

The persecution of the Puritans still continued in England, 
and while scourging, imprisonment, mutilation and the pil- 
lory, were inflicted on them there, the king, Charles I, pro- 
hibited their flying to the home which had now become so 
inviting in America, and frequently detained ships in which 
they had proposed to embark. 

During the civil wars in which Charles I, then king of 

* A demand for the proof of their title ; literally meaning hy lohat 
xoarrant. 



THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 101 

Prosperity. 

England, became engaged, the colonies were left in a state of 
peace and prosperity. Through the industry and enterprise 
of the settlers, scarcity had yielded to abundance ; the rude 
tenements constructed on their arrival, had given place to well 
built houses ; and not less than fifty towns and villages had 
been established. Commerce as well as agriculture engaged 
attention. The principal exports were furs, lumber, grain and 
fish. The business of ship-building had been commenced at an 
early day, and in 1643, the manufacture of cotton received 
from Barbadoes, was commenced, provision having already 
been made for woollen and linen manufactories. 

The first printing-press was established in 1639, at Cam- 
bridge ; the first newspaper printed in the Boston colonies, 
was the Boston News Letter, a weekly paper, originated in 
1704. In 1719, another paper was commenced, the Boston 
Gazette. A censorship of the press was then exercised, and 
nothing allowed to be published unless satisfactory to the 
colonial government. 

Among the members of the English Long Parliament, were 
many who favored the Puritan plantations, and who were dis- 
posed to extend encouragement to them. But the people of 
New England were very cautious of placing themselves 
under its protection, being willing to forego the benefit, rather 
than to be subject to such laws as might be imposed upon them. 
Yet such commercial advantages as might be obtained with- 
out the surrender of any rights guaranteed to them in their 
charter, were of too much importance to be overlooked by so 
shrewd a people. Agents were therefore sent to England, 
who were favorably received, and in 1643 the Parliament re- 
leased from taxation all imports and exports of the colony. 

In 1642, by the request of the people of New Hampshire, 
that territory was annexed to Massachusetts, on equal terms. 



102 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Union of the colonies. 

Not having been settled by Puritans, the system which Mas- 
sachusetts had adopted, requiring that church members alone 
should participate in the administration of the government, 
was not applied to them. 

As early as 1637, at a time when the leading magistrates 
and elders of Connecticut were in Boston, a union of the 
colonies of New England had been proposed. In 1643 a con- 
1643 federation was effected, embracing the several governments 
of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and New Haven, 
under the title of The United Colonies of New England. 

The object of the alliance was mutual protection of their 
lives, property and liberties against dangers at home or abroad ; 
the local government being carefully reserved to each. Two 
commissioners were appointed from each colony, who were to 
meet annually for deliberation on the affairs of the confeder- 
acy. The subjects of peace and war, and especially Indian 
affairs, exclusively belonged to them. But they possessed 
no executive power, and it remained for the States to carry 
their votes into effect. Rhode Island was not admitted into 
the union, because it was not willing to come under the juris- 
diction of Plymouth. Maine was also excluded, on account of 
the religious opinions of its inhabitants being different from 
those of the Puritans, as well as its civil administration. 

The power of the natives had been increasing, as they be- 
came acquainted with the arts of civilized life. Yet they 
were weakened by dissensions among themselves. The Nar- 
ragansctts and the Mohegans had their quarrels. Mianto- 
nomoh, chief of the Narragansetts, was at enmity with the 
English ; and therefore regarded Uncas, chief of the Mohe- 
gans, who were allies of the English, as doubly his enemy. 
Collecting his warriors together, he made a sudden attack 
on the Mohegans, but was defeated and taken prisoner. 



THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 103 

Death of Miantonomoh. 

Uncas applied to the commissioners of the United Colonies 1543 
for advice, in the disposal of the chieftain, who finding that 
he had taken the life of a servant of Uncas, that he had 
fanned the flame of discontent with the English, in Massachu- 
setts, as well as plunged into a bloody war, recommended his 
death ; and Miantonomoh, who had given an asylum to Roger 
Williams, and befriended the settlers in Rhode Island, thus 
perished. His tribe was greatly exasperated, and only pre- 
vented from avenging his death, by the fear of a conflict with 
the English, who persevered in protecting the Mohegans. 

The Connecticut colony, founded by emigrants from Mas- 
sachusetts, had never received a charter from England, but 
felt secure by its admission into the confederacy, and purchas- 
ed a title to the soil, from the assigns of the Earl of Warwick, 
the original proprietary. Saybrook thus became incorporated 
with Connecticut. Rhode Island, however, excluded from the 
confederacy, sought the protection of England, and sent Roger 
Williams as its agent. His character and labors as a mis- 
sionary were known in that country. He was well received 
there, and found no difficulty in obtaining from the Long 
Parliament *' a free and absolute charter of civil government." 
On his return, letters from Parliament insured him a safe re- 
ception at Boston, from those who had passed sentence of 
banishment on him. In the province which he had founded, 
he was warmly welcomed, and large numbers of the people of 
Providence came out in canoes to hail his return. 

The difficulties of the province were not yet over. A sep- 
arate governor for the islands was appointed by the executive 
council in England. Fearing that this division of the terri- 
tory of their small State, would lead to the annexation of the 
remaining soil to the adjacent governments, Williams was 
once more sent to England, in 1652, with a colleague, and 



104 HISTORY OP THE 'UNITED STATES. 

Maine annexed to Massachusetts. 

1652 was again successful. The governor's commission was re- 
scinded, and the charter of what now forms the State of 
Rhode Island, confirmed. The entire success of Williams 
with the executive council was in a great measure owing to 
the powerful intercession of Henry Vane, who had continued 
a warm friend of republican liberty. 

In the mean time Maine had made but little progress. Sir 
Ferdinand Gorges, the proprietary, had expended much time 
and money in efforts for colonization. He had granted a city 
charter to the town of York, which contained about three hun- 
dred inhabitants, and sent out as deputy governor, his cousin 
Thomas Gorges. 

The patent for Lygonia had been purchased by Higby, and 
a dispute ensued between the deputies of the two proprieta- 
ries. The magistrates of Massachusetts were solicited to act 
as umpires, who decided, after investigating the subject, that 
neither party had a clear right, and they were enjoined to 
live in peace. 

After the death of Gorges, his heirs paid no attention to the 
colony, and such commissioners as acted under authority from 
Europe, gradually withdrew. Under these circumstances, 
the inhabitants of Piscataqua, York and Wells, following the 
example of their neighbors, formed themselves into a body 
politic, for the purposes of self-government. Massachusetts 
offered her protection, and subsequently, on an examination 
of the great charter of the Massachusetts Bay Company, by 
the general court in Boston, it was voted that their jurisdic- 
tion extended over a large part of the territory of Maine. 
Commissioners were therefore sent to establish their claim and 
to settle the government ; and the whole country gradually 
submitted to the authority of Massachusetts. The Episco- 
palians were not disturbed in the enjoyment of their religious 
liberty. 



THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 105 

The right of appeal to Parliament denied. 

In 1646, the nature of the relations with the mother coun- 
try, became a subject of discussion by the general court. In 
consequence of an appeal to Parliament, by some disaffected 
persons, that body had claimed the right to reverse the de. 
cisions, and control the government of Massachusetts. This 
was considered as striking at the foundation of the rising com- 
monwealth. After much deliberation, the degree of allegiance 
which they considered due to England was agreed upon ; and 
the colony proceeded to exercise the independence which it 
claimed. 

The legislature frankly remonstrated against any assertion 
of the paramount authority of Parliament : " We have not 
admitted," say they, " appeals to your authority, being as- 
sured they cannot stand with the liberty and power granted 
us by our charter, and would be destructive to all govern- 
ment." The doctrines of colonial equality were received with 
favor by the committee of Parliament, and after ample delib- 
eration they replied, " We encourage no appeals from your 
justice. We leave you with all the freedom and latitude 
that may, in any respect, be duly claimed by you." The 
establishment of a mint in 1652, was somewhat of an exer- 
cise of sovereignty. 

The religious sentiments of the Puritan colonists gave a 
character to their institutions. Although friends of tolera- 
tion had arisen in Boston, they were in the minority, and in- 
tolerance continued. Religion was still an affair of state, and 
to preserve its purity was considered the duty of the civil 
magistrate ; absence from public worship was purchased by 
a fine. 

Baptists were prevented from preaching by fines or whipping; 
but the severity of persecution fell on the Friends or Quakers. 
Two female members of this Society, the first who attempted 



106 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



Persecution of the Friends. Education. 



1656 ^ come to Boston, and who arrived in 165G, were taken from 
the vessel to prison, where they were detained five weeks, and 
then sent from the country. A law was passed forbidding all 
persons of this persuasion from coming into the colony, and 
imposing a fine on such as should receive them at their houses. 
This law, not being effectual, they were banished under pen- 
alty of death for their return ; and three men and one woman 
suffered martyrdom by hanging, under its enactment. They 
pleaded that it was their especial religious duty to testify 
against the unrighteous laws of the colony. One of them, 
after being condemned to death, said, " Blessed be God, who 
calls me to testify against wicked and unjust men." The last 
words of another were, '* We suffer not as evil-doers, but for 
conscience' sake." 

On every subject but religion, Puritan legislation was mild. 
Its criminal law was humane ; various offences were taken 
from the catalogue of capital crimes. Cruelty towards animals 
was a civil offence. Although the first years of the residence 
of the Puritans in America, were years of great hardship and 
affiction, yet, owing to their industry, enterprise and frugality, 
this season of distress was soon followed by prosperity and 
plenty ; and when persecution ceased in England, the colonists 
did not feel disposed to leave the home of their adoption. 

The importance of general education early impressed the 
minds of the New England republicans. In 1647, a law was 
passed in the colony of Massachusetts, requiring the estab- 
lishment of a public school in every township containing fifty 
families, and a school of superior order for preparing boys 
for college, in every township containing one hundred families. 
The public schools of the State of Massachusetts, at this day, 
rank higher than those of any other State in the Union. They 
are supported at the public expense, and are open to all her 



THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 107 

Public schools. 

children. Some of her most influential citizens have received 
their education at these schools, and it is seldom, perhaps 
never, that a son of Massachusetts is found, in whatever part 
of the world, who has not sufficient education for the ordinary 
purposes of life. 

In 1636, an appropriation was made for the building of a 
college, and two years afterwards, John Harvard, whose name 
the institution has since borne, bequeathed to it his large li- 
brary and half his estate. The rest of the New England con- 
federacy soon followed the example of Massachusetts in the 
adoption of a system of public school instruction. 



CHAPTEH X. 

THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 
(Continued.) 

Goffe and Whalley. Complaints against the colony. 

The information of the restoration of Charles II to the 
1660 throne of England, was brought to Boston by the ships which 
conveyed as passengers, Goffe and Whalley, two of the 
judges who condemned Charles I. It was received with great 
anxiety, yet no notice was immediately taken of the event, as 
affairs in England were regarded as unsettled. 

Goffe and Whalley having left England before Charles II 
was proclaimed king, did not conceal their names or charac- 
ters. They were allowed to reside unmolested within the lim- 
its of Massachusetts for nearly a year, until warrants arrived 
from England for their apprehension. They then fled to New 
Haven, and concealed themselves in different places, until the 
zeal of the search being over, they retired to Hadley, where 
they passed the remainder of their lives. John Dixwell, 
another of the regicides, who made his escape, lived undis- 
covered, and by changing his name, became identified with 
the inhabitants of New Haven. 

Massachusetts, trusting in the liberties guaranteed by its 
charter, was in no haste to profess allegiance to the king. 
When, however, it became known that the authority of 
Charles II was firmly established, and that complaints 
against the colony had been presented to both houses of Par- 
liament, the necessity of decisive action was evident. A gen- 



THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 109 

Agents sent to England. Navigation act reenacted. 

eral court was convened, and addresses were prepared for Par- 
liament and the monarch. The colonists petitioned for the 
continuance of civil and religious liberties, and requested an 
opportunity for defence against complaints. An agent was 
sent to influence Parliament on their behalf, and to intercede 
for a continuance of the commercial privileges granted by the 
Long Parliament. But the navigation act had been re- 
enacted, and Massachusetts could not gain an exemption from 
its severity.* An expression of good will from the king was 
the reply to the colonial address, but this alone could not quiet 
the apprehensions of the colonists ; and when it was rumored 
soon after, that a governor-general for all North America had 
been appointed, the general court published a declaration of 
rights, in which were defined the power and duty of the col- 
ony, as founded on their charter. Having in this way de- 
clared the terms on which the authority of the king should be 
recognized, Charles II, more than a year after his restora- 
tion, was acknowledged king by public proclamation. 

Agents were then sent to England to protect the interests 
of the colony, who were instructed to propitiate the sovereign 
as far as possible, without sacrificing the independence of the 
country. Although favorably received they could not obtain 
all that the colonists desired ; and they soon returned, bring- 
ing a letter from the king, containing a confirmation of the 
charter, and granting a general amnesty to all political offen- 
ders, during the late troubles. But the oath of allegiance 

* This act not only gave to the British merchant the entire trade of 
the colonies, but it went further, and provided that " No merchan- 
dise shall be imported into the plantations, but in English vessels, 
navigated by Englishmen, under penality of forfeiture." Thus all 
trade with the Dutch, or any other foreign nation, was entirely pro- 
hibited. 



110 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The younger Winthrop sent to England. 

was required, the administration of justice in the king's name, 
the complete toleration of the Church of England and a con- 
cession of the elective franchise to every inhabitant possess- 
ing a competent estate. The only one of these which was 
complied with, was that which required justice to be adminis- 
tered in the king's name. 

The remaining New England colonies pursued a different 

course toward the British government from that which Mas- 

1660 sachusetts so fearlessly adopted. The authority of Charles 

II was early acknowledged in Plymouth, Connecticut, New 

Haven and Rhode Island. 

The news of the restoration awakened a desire for a patent 
in the Connecticut colony, and the younger Winthrop, son of 
the estimable governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop, was 
sent to England as their agent. They had purchased their 
territory from the Mohegans, and had also bought the claim 
of the British proprietaries. This they pleaded with the king, 
and drew up a charter which it was hoped he would ratify. 

The colonists could not perhaps have selected a better or 
more suitable agent. Such had been his interest in the 
colonies, that he had allowed his large estate to be sacrificed 
in "furthering the great work" in Massachusetts, and had 
afterwards been instrumental in planting Connecticut. Con- 
fidence in his integrity and uprightness was universal ; 
extending to all who had intercourse with him, the Dutch at 
New York, as well as the English. Of expanded mind, he 
respected virtue wherever found ; and when the Friends or 
Quakers had become objects of persecution, his influence was 
used in their behalf. 

Such was the person to whom Connecticut confided its 
interests; and he was successful. An ample patent was 
obtained. The charter connected New Haven with Hartford 



THE UNITED COLONIES OP NEW ENGLAND. Ill 

He is successful. Ample patent obtained. 

in one colony, of which the limits were extended from the 
Narragansett river to the Pacific Ocean. It conferred on the 
colonists, unqualified power to govern themselves, and no 
provision was made for the interference of the English gov- 
ernment, in any event whatever. Connecticut was virtually 
independent. On his return to America, Winthrop was cor- 
dially welcomed. The union of the two colonies could not 
be effected without collision, but the wise moderation of 
Winthrop reconciled the difficulties and blended their inter- 
ests. He enjoyed the confidence of the colony through the 
remainder of his life, and was annually chosen governor for 
fourteen years. Connecticut was happy in its charter ; and 
this one act of Charles II, says Bancroft, is sufficient to 
'* redeem his life from the charge of having been unproduc- 
tive of public happiness." For more than a century peace 
existed within its borders, and with short exceptions, its 
history is the picture of colonial happiness. Its government 
was exercised by a community of farmers, with leisure to 
reflect, who cherished education, and who had neither a 
nobility nor an ignorant and turbulent populace. For a long 
time there was hardly a lawyer in the land. In those days of 
simplicity, the best house required no fastening but a latch 
lifted by a string ; bolts and locks were unknown. For a 
century, its population doubled in each successive twenty 
years. The fields, the hills and the rivers supplied the set- 
tlers with food ; little was produced for a foreign market, and 
few imported luxuries were admitted. Their clothing was 
the result of domestic industry in spinning and weaving. 

Education claimed attention, and common schools were early 
established. Yale College, at New Haven, was commenced 
in 1700. It was small at first, in proportion to the means 
of the inhabitants, but it is now one of the first literary insti- 
u tions in the country. 



112 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Commissioners are appointed in England. 

A charter for Rhode Island was obtained by its agent from 
Charles II, which included all the privileges that had been 
granted to Connecticut, and, in some respects, was still more 
liberal. No oath of allegiance was required, and complete 
religious toleration was established. 

When the news was received that the charter had arrived, 
joy spread throughout the colony, and the whole body of the 
people gathered together, formally to receive the letters pa- 
tent. Massachusetts had been unwilling to admit Rhode 
Island into the confederacy, as a separate colony ; now with- 
out her aid, she was secure, with a liberal charter. 

The English government had always questioned the right 
of the Dutch to their settlements on the Hudson river. 
Charles II being resolved to dispossess them, granted the 
territory to his brother, the Duke of York, who sent four 
ships for their reduction. The same vessels conveyed also 
commissioners, who had been appointed to regulate the affairs 
of New England. 

The people of Massachusetts were not insensible to the 
1664 dangers they had incurred by their refusal to comply with 
the demands of the king, and they soon had occasion for 
the exercise of much firmness. False reports had been min- 
gled with correct information, concerning the colony, and 
it was rumored that they had formed themselves into a con- 
federacy for the purpose of throwing off the dominion of 
England. The appointment of the commissioners was the 
consequence. 

When this information was circulated in Boston, and there 
was reason to fear that ships of war would soon anchor in the 
harbor, precautionary measures were taken for the preserva- 
tion of the charter, and strict obedience to the laws of Massa- 
chusetts was required. A day of fasting and prayer was 



THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 113 

Their arrival. They are opposed. 

appointed. The information thus became diffused throughout 1664 
the colony. 

On the arrival of the commissioners, no immediate exer- 
tion of power on their part was attempted, but the general 
court was assembled. A letter from the king was laid 
before them, requiring prompt assistance in the expedition 
against New Netherlands, and it was agreed to levy two 
hundred men. This was done, although the men were not 
called to actual service- 

But, as the charter did not require the establishment of a 
commission, the general court resolved to resist the orders of 
the king. They therefore prohibited all reference to the 
commissioners by the people, and prepared a remonstrance to 
the king, in which they set forth the privileges granted to 
them under their charter, the dangers to which they would 
be exposed from the arbitrary power of strangers, and the 
loss to the king if the plantation should be ruined. It was 
hoped to weary the English government by a tedious corres- 
pondence, which might be continued till some change there 
should occur favorable to liberty in America. 

The authority of the commissioners having been denied in 
Massachusetts, they were particularly desirous of avoiding 
collisions in the other colonies. Rhode Island received them 
favorably, and the people of Plymouth did not actively oppose 
them. In Connecticut they attempted nothing but for the 
benefit of the colony. In New Hampshire they endeavored to 
establish the claims of royalty, but here again Massachusetts 
resisted, and forbade the towns on the Piscataqua to meet, or 
in any thing to obey the commission. In Maine they were 
more successful for a time, but soon after their departure, 
Massachusetts again established her authority. 

Notwithstanding the decisive action of Massachusetts, New 



114 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Attempts to convert the natives. John Eliot. 

England after this enjoyed a season of prosperous tranquillity, 
the king being too much engaged with disturbances at home 
to interfere with the government of the colonies. 

The villages of New England already excited admiration. 
Massachusetts possessed a widely extended trade, commerce 
had increased, and such was the prosperity of the country that, 
after the great fire in London, large contributions were sent 
to the sufferers from their transatlantic brethren. The pop- 
ulation has been variously estimated. It may have been, in 
1675, about fifty-five thousand, of which the government of 
j^gyr Massachusetts comprised about one half. 

Some attempts had been made to convert the natives, and 
instil into them habits of industry. But it was left for John 
Eliot to give the work a leading impulse. This devoted man 
labored faithfully, giving his time and energies to the cause. 
The Indians were taught to read and write. Some of them 
spoke English tolerably well ; and Eliot endeavored to gather 
them into permanent villages^ and to induce them to adopt 
the customs of civilized life. He prepared an Indian gram- 
mar, and made and published a translation of the whole Bible 
in the Massachusetts dialect. He taught the men how to cul- 
tivate the ground, and the women habits of domestic industry. 
He established for them simple forms of government, and 
instructed them in the principles of Christianity, while his 
simplicity of life and manners and the sweetness of his 
temper won the affections of the natives and emigrants. 

There were others who endeavored to instruct the natives 
in the Christian religion, and with happy results. The In- 
dians, under these favorable influences, preserved in some in- 
stances an unbroken friendship with the whites in their imme- 
diate neighborhood, although they were many times more 
numerous, and, had they chosen, might probably have en- 
tirely exterminated their white neighbors. 



THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 115 



Apprehensions of the Indians. Philip of Pokanoket. 

Yet the influence of Christianity did not extend far, and 
the Narragansetts, a powerful tribe, with PhiHp of Pokanoket 
and his warriors, retained their adhesion to paganism. The 
increase of the English alarmed those Indians who were 
unwilling to change their manner of life, and who now found 
themselves deprived of their usual means of subsistence, 
hemmed in between the colony of Connecticut on one side, 
and Plymouth on the other. 

Although the inhabitants of New England had, in most 
instances, obtained a title to the soil from the native inhabi- 
tants, yet in the sales of land, great advantages had been taken 
of them ; the worth of their grounds had not been given 
them, but sundry articles of little value, and less use, with 
which their untutored minds were for the time pleased. The 
Indians had also been crowded into narrow necks of land, 
where they could be more readily watched ; and we may sup- 
pose that the unlettered savage could hardly realize that 
by affixing " a shapeless mark to a bond " he was to lose his 
entire claim to large tracts of land. 

The Confederacy of the Pokanokets appears to have been 
the first to awaken to a sense of the danger of extermination. 
Its aged chief Massasoit, who had in the first place wel- 
comed the Pilgrims to New England, and afterwards given 
an asylum to the founder of Pvhode Island, was now deceased. 
His son Philip had succeeded him as chief over allied tribes. 

As the villages of the English drew nearer and nearer to 
them, they found themselves deprived of their land by their 
own legal contracts, and confined to small sections. Collisions 
and mutual distrust were the consequences, and when expres- 
sions of passion on the part of the Indians reached the ears 
of the English, their fears magnified the designs into an organ- 
ized scheme of resistance. The wrath of the Pokanokets had 



116 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

King Philip's war. 

1676 been excited by one of their chieftains being obliged to sub- 
mit to an examination of the English, and to the judgment 
of an English tribunal. This led to the murder of eight or 
nine of the colonists, and the alarm of war rapidly spread. 

When the intelligence reached Philip, he is said to have 
wept. He found himself involved in war against his judg- 
ment and his will ; for he felt that there was no prospect of 
success. The news of the rising of the Pokanokets was the 
signal for the commencement of devastations, and within a 
few weeks the war extended over a space of three hundred 
miles. 

The minds of the New Englanders were alive to the hor- 
rors of savage warfare, and superstition lent its aid to increase 
the excitement. " The sighing of the wind was like the 
whistling of bullets," and invisible troops of horses were said 
to have been distinctly heard galloping through the air. 

The Pokanokets were soon driven from their quarters at 
Mount Hope, and Philip became a wanderer among other 
tribes. A treaty of neutrality was then extorted from the 
Narragan setts, but Philip with his warriors spread through 
the country, exciting the natives to an exterminating warfare. 

The Indians could not cope with the English in open bat- 
tle ; their strength lay in ambushes and surprises. They 
were fleet, and acquainted with all the paths of the forest ; 
they could hide in the thickets, or retreat into the swamps. 
By their rapid movements they seemed to be everywhere. 
Many of the English were shot dead without a moment's 
warning ; town after town was burned, others were deserted, 
and for a year New England was kept in a state of terror and 
excitement. 

The English were not the only sufferers ; and war, as it 
always does, brought a catalogue of evils in its train, much 



THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 117 

Burning of the cabins. 

greater than those it is designed to avert. We shall see by IQ'JQ 
the history of Pennsylvania, whether uniform kindness and 
conciliatory measures might not have preserved the peace, and 
thereby prevented the suffering and anguish, the loss of life 
and of property, as well as the corruption of morals, conse- 
quent upon war. Koger Williams, although he could not 
prevent the war, was assured by Philip and his confederates 
that he should never be injured, for " he was a good man, 
and had been kind to them formerly." 

The commissioners of the United Colonies now declared 
the Narragansetts to be accessory to the outrages perpetrated 
by the Indians that were at open war. It was therefore deter, 
mined to consider them as enemies, and their cabins, where 
the warriors were receiving shelter during the winter, were set 
on fire. All their winter stores were consumed, their wigwams 
and all the little comforts of savage life ; and their men, women, 
and children, " no man knoweth how many hundred of them," 
were burned to death. '* The scene was horrible. The yells 
and shouts of> the savages were mingled with the roar of the 
musketry, the crackling of fire, and the screams and wailings 
of the women, children and old men, who were roasting in 
the wigwams ; for if they escaped for a moment from their 
burning shelter, they were driven back by the muskets." 
Those who did escape hid themselves in a swamp, where, 
without food or shelter, many of them perished in the snow. 

Scenes like the foregoing were better buried in oblivion, 
but that the record of them is necessary to the proper solu- 
tion of the question, why the red man fades away at the ap- 
proach of civilization. 

The English seemed bent upon the destruction of the Indians 
and made use of those who were their allies, in the work of 
death. At length, many of them became suppliants for peace ; 



118 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Narragansetts destroyed. Death of Philip. 

1676 to use the words of Cotton Mather, having "neither strength 
nor sense left them to do any thing for their own defence." 
But Philip refused to submit. He was still a wanderer, 
chased from one hiding place to another. Finding at length 
his wife and only son were taken prisoners, " My heart 
breaks," the chieftain exclaimed, *' now I am ready to die." 
The colonists wore at a loss how to dispose of the son, an in- 
teresting boy of about nine years of age, but they concluded 
to sell him into bondage ; and the last of the family of Mas- 
sasoit, of him who had welcomed the Pilgrims to the shores 
of New England, and had ever after been their friend, was 
sold to toil as a slave in the Island of Bermuda. 

The sword, fire, famine and sickness had now nearly 
swept the once powerful Narragansetts from the earth. 
Scarcely one hundred men remained of the tribe. This 
cruel war was brought to a close by the death of Philip. 
He and his few remaining men were surprised in their en- 
campment, and so surrounded by whites and Indians in 
ambush, that there was no escape. Thus perished Philip of 
Pokanoket.* 

To certain of the tribes the colonists would grant no terms 
of capitulation. Even some who had surrendered on condi- 
tion of life being spared, were executed by the government. 
In the disposition of the prisoners taken in the war, many- 
were put to death, and others sold as slaves, most of whom 
were sent to Bermuda. The land belonginoj to the tribe of 
the Pokanokets, was annexed to the colony by right of 
conquest. 

The estimated number of the English who fell in battle, 
who were massacred in their houses, or who were taken pris- 

* See "History of King Philip's War," by Captain Church. 



THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 119 

Results of the war. 

oners and afterwards expired under torture, is six hundred. 
There was scarcely a family that had not lost one of its mem- 
bers. Besides this loss of life, we find the following summary 
of the cost of the war : *' Thirteen towns in Massachusetts, 
Plymouth and Rhode Island, destroyed, and many others 
greatly injured ; six hundred dwelling houses burned ; a vast 
amount of goods and cattle, one hundred thousand pounds in 
money, and an incalculable amount in crippled limbs, broken 
health, ruined morals, and the conversion of men, who might 
have been producers, into worthless drones, wasteful spend- 
thrifts, or unprincipled plunderers. The loss to the Indians 
cannot be told. It is estimated that not less than three 
thousand of them were slaughtered during this terrible strug- 
gle."* 

The Mohegans remained faithful to the English, and the 
soil of Connecticut escaped these disasters ; not a drop of 
blood was there shed. 

During this perilous period, the Society of Friends, who 
believe all wars, both offensive and defensive, to be contrary 
to the spirit of Christianity, refused to take any part against 
the Indians, or to place themselves under the protection 
of English garrisons. Those who were faithful to these 
principles, were preserved, without an exception. Their 
peaceable aspect invited no aggression ; and the evident con- 
fidence which they reposed in the Indians, disarmed all feel- 
ing of hostility. 

One of the unhappy results of this war, was the breaking up 
of the settlements of the " Praying Indians, "converted through 
the labors of Eliot. Through difficulties and discouragements 
he had for thirty years pressed forward in his labors, and had 

* Review of Graham's Colonial History. 



120 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Further results of the -war. 

been cheered by the blessing that had crowned his exertions. 
But the scene was now changed, and the close of his life was 
saddened by a dark cloud upon his hopes. 

Possessing the confidence of neither party, Eliot's converts 
suffered harsh injustice. The Indians looked upon them as 
allies of the English ; the English regarded them with suspi- 
cion. It was believed that they would at any moment render 
assistance to the hostile Indians, and being acquainted with 
the habits and force of the English, would be the more dan- 
gerous should they go over to the enemy. This opinion was 
strengthened by the fact, that a few actually joined Philip, 
though by far the greater number remained true to the 
English. On the most groundless suspicion, they were 
attacked, and in one instance a lad was killed, and some other 
persons wounded. One who had acted as guide and inter- 
preter, was killed, another taken prisoner, and sold as a slave. 
A number were seized and sent to Boston for trial, on an ac- 
cusation without any foundation, and those who befriended 
them during the trial, brought indignation upon themselves. 

In consequence of the excitement against them, one com- 
pany was removed to Deer Island, where they necessarily 
endured much suffering ; others, forsaking their settlement, 
fled far into the forest, where they were exposed to cold and 
hunger. " We are sorry," said they, *' that the English 
have driven us from our praying to God, and from our 
teacher." 

At the close of the war the survivors were allowed to re- 
turn to their settlements, but a blow had been inflicted on 
the progress of Christianity among the Indians, from which 
it never recovered. 

In relation to this disastrous result. Cotton Mather remarks: 
" Had we but done half so much as the French papists have 



THE UNITED COLONIES OP NEW ENGLAND. 121 

Controversy with Charles II. 

done to proselyte the Indians unto the Christian faith, instead 
of being snares and traps unto us, and scourges in our sides, 
and thorns in our eyes, they would have been a wall unto us 
both by night and by day. What a sting was there in those 
words which the Indians have used unto some of our cap- 
tives : * Had the English been as careful to instruct us as 
the French, we had been of your religion.' " 

During these difl&culties, Massachusetts did not apply to 
the parent country for assistance, and nothing was received 
to repair the losses. While the war raged, Charles II was 
endeavoring to re-assume the government of Massachusetts 
and to regain possession of New Hampshire and Maine. He 
had been treating with the heirs of Gorges ; but before any 
negotiation was completed, Massachusetts purchased their 
claims, and thus came into possession of the State of Maine 
as far as the Kennebec. New Hampshire became a royal 
province, but through its general assembly, expressed its 
sense of the kindness of Massachusetts, while under its gov- 
ernment. 

The merchants and manufacturers of England feared the 
colony as their rival. Their complaints had been received 
with favor, and laws restricting commerce hence became a 
subject of dispute between the colony and the crown. The 
controversy with Charles II was continued until 1684, when 1684 
Massachusetts, unwilling to submit to the arbitrary requisitions 
of the king, which she considered inconsistent with her char- 
tered rights, was compelled to relinquish that charter, which 
had been cherished with so much anxiety, and on which the 
liberties of New England had rested. 

In 1686, after the accession of James II to the^throne of 
England, Sir Edmond Andros was appointed governor of all 
New England. James wished to break the several charters, 
11 



122 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Oppressive regulations. Andros governor-general of the northern colonies. 

and by uniting the northern colonies in one, more effectually 

1686 to resist the encroachments of the French from Canada. The 
governor was authorized to make laws and levy taxes, with 
the approbation of a council to be originally appointed by the 
crown, but the members of which might be removed by 
Andros. He was also instructed to sustain his authority by 
force, to allow no printing-press in the colony, and to encour- 
age Episcopacy. 

A series of oppressive regulations followed. Land titles 
were declared void, and great profits anticipated from the new 
grants which must be taken. Additional taxes and duties 
were imposed. None were allowed to leave the country with- 
out special permission, and the schools of learning were left 
unsustained. 

In Rhode Island, Andros dissolved the government. In 
the fall of 1687, he proceeded to Connecticut to assume the 
control of that colony. He demanded the surrender of the 

1687 charter, but that was concealed in the hollow of an oak, the 
** Charter Oak," held in remembrance to this day. Yet the 
colonists were obliged to submit to his jurisdiction. 

In 1688, the provinces of New York and New Jersey were 
added to the dominion of Andros. He quickly hastened 

1688 south to take possession ; and now the whole territory from 
Maine to the Delaware was united under his despotic rule. 

The New England colonies could not submit without a 
struggle. Increase Mather, son of Cotton Mather, was sent 
to England to make an appeal to the king, and embai-ked 
without detection. 

But relief came by the revolution of 1688. When the 
news arrived in Boston of the invasion of England, and 
that the Prince of Orange had been declared king, the 
whole town rose, with determined resolution ; the former 



THE UNITED COLONIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 123 

Andros imprisoned. Former government restored. 

magistrates were reinstated, and Andros, with his most 1689 
prominent adherents, was imprisoned. Town meetings 
were held throughout the colony, when nearly all the towns 
voted to restore the former government. The example of 
Massachusetts was followed by the other New England 
colonies. 



CHAPTER XI. 

NEW ENGLAND. {Continued.) 



Regulations of king William. 



By the revolution of 1688, the people of Massachusetts had 
anticipated the restoration of their charter. In this they were 
disappointed, although king William was finally induced to 
grant another, less liberal in its nature than the former. He 
reserved to himself the appointment of governor, who might 
call and dissolve the legislature at his pleasure. The judicial 
officers were also to be appointed by him, with the consent of 
his council. A considerable addition was made to the terri- 
tory of Massachusetts. The new charter embraced Plymouth 
colony, and the Elizabeth islands, Maine and Nova Scotia ; 
also the country extending north to the river St. Lawrence. 
New Hampshire was omitted, and ever afterwards remained a 
separate government. 

Sir William Phipps, the first governor appointed by king 
1692 William, arrived in Boston in 1692. The general court was 
immediately convened and the new charter accepted without 
opposition. 

Meantime difficulties with the Indians continued, and at- 
tacks were frequently made on the settlements and forts. Deep 
in feelings of revenge, as well as of friendship, they were led 
in some instances to particular massacres, which of course 
only increased hostilities. In 1689, the natives found an 
opportunity of avenging a violation of good faith which had 
occurred some years before, when three hundred and fifty 



NEW ENGLAND. 125 



Expedition against the French at P. Royal. General Congress in N. Y. 

Indians, who had come to Dover to trade, after having en- 
tered into a treaty, were seized, and sent to Boston to be sold 
as slaves. The same person then in command was now 
stationed at Dover. The Indians surprised the people by 
night, gained access to the forts, and destroyed those who 
opposed them. The commanding officer and about twenty 
others were killed ; nearly thirty were taken into Canada, 
and sold to the French. 

War between France and England was deemed sufficient 
cause for corresponding aggressions on this side of the Atlantic. 
French privateers from Acadia, now Nova Scotia, were de- 
stroying the shipping on the coast. This induced the general 
court of Massachusetts to send an expedition against Port 
Royal, its chief town, which was successful, and the whole of 
Acadia submitted, but was recovered by France in 1696. 

The history of these times is fraught with difficulties and 
dissensions, skirmishes and surprises, between the English on 
the one hand, and the French alone, or the French and 
Indians combined, on the other. The spirit of Him who com- 
manded "Love your enemies," found little place in the feel- 
ings of the English or French colonists toward one another. 
On the 1st of Fifth month, (May,) 1690, at the instigation of 
Massachusetts, a general congress, the first held in America, 1690 
assembled in New York. Danger, it was thought, showed 
the necessity of union. The design was formed of reducing 
all Canada to the British government ; in pursuance of which 
an army was sent against Montreal, by way of Lake Cham- 
plain, while Massachusetts sent a fleet to attack Quebec. 
Both expeditions entirely failed ; the ships on their return 
were scattered by storms, and some were wrecked. The loss 
to Massachusetts is estimated to have been one thousand men, 
and by the undertaking, the colony was involved in great 



126 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Superstition. Delusion not confined to New England. 

expenses, to defray which, it became necessary to issue bills 
of credit. This afterwards caused much dissatisfaction, as 
their value greatly depreciated. 

At this time the minds of the people were deeply imbued 
with superstition. Imagination, aided by this powerful stim- 
ulus, produced mysterious appearances, and a belief in witch- 
1690 craft spread throughout the land. In more recent times, also, 
we have perceived traces of the same feeling when we have 
heard of spectres rising up among the tombs. 

This strange delusion was not confined to New England ; it 
existed to a greater or less extent in many civilized countries. 
In England, a law had been enacted punishing witchcraft with 
death, and many had there been tried and executed. In 
France still more were condemned, and in Scotland much per- 
secution and suffering were endured on this account. Narra- 
tions of trials and confessions had been published, and having 
reached New England, were widely circulated. " They were 
read in a time of deep distress and gloom, by a people natu- 
rally sedate, and accustomed to regard with awe the surpris- 
ing and unaccountable incidents and appearances, which, in 
this new world, were often presented to their contemplation." 

But whatever may have been the cause of this remarkable 
superstition, it prevailed to an astonishing extent. It was 
used as a means of oppression and cruelty, and under the 
same commission, persons were punished for heresy and witch- 
craft, and Cotton Mather, a prominent preacher, asserted that 
the " devils broke in upon the country after as astonishing a 
manner as was ever heard of." Soon after the arrival of the 
new governor, a court was instituted for the trial of persons 
accused of the evil influence. 

In 1G88, Cotton Mather drew up an account of the inves- 
tigation of a case, said to have been conducted ** with a de- 



NEW ENGLAND. 127 



A case at Danvers. 



gree of solemnity, that made a deep impression on the minds 1692 
of the people." This was printed and circulated throughout 
New England, and published also in England, where Richard 
Baxter wrote a preface to the narrative, in which he concluded 
*' every one who refused to believe it an obdurate Sadducee." 
It may not be uninteresting to trace particularly one case. 
Early in 1692, two children in the family of Samuel Parris, the 
minister of Salem village, now Danvers, his daughter and his 
niece, '* began to behave in a strange manner ; they would 
creep under chairs, sit in uncommon attitudes, and utter lan- 
guages which none could understand. As they were pitied 
and indulged, their freaks increased, until it was thought they 
must be bewitched, and the physicians, when called in, con- 
firmed the opinion." In this family were two Indian slaves, 
John and Tituba, his wife ; the latter informed Parris that 
•' although no witch herself, she once served a mistress who was, 
and who taught her how to find them out ; and she would try 
upon the children without hurting them. Parris eagerly took 
with her scheme, and saw her take rye meal and knead a cake 
which she salted in a peculiar manner, and which she said, 
when baked in green cabbage leaves in the embers, and eaten 
by the two girls, would make them see their tormentors ; and 
she continued the experiment. But although she and her 
master affected to talk and act mysteriously, yet the children, 
as they crept about shrewdly under the chairs, eyed the cook- 
ing with a very jealous interest ; and when they became con- 
scious that the unsavory morsel was for their mouths, they 
grew restive, for no necromancy could satisfy them that Titu- 
ba's briny bread was like gingerbread, or any thing good, and 
they began to show a rational opposition. But Tituba said 
they must eat, and Parris began to use authority. One of the 
children said she would smell of the cake, and begged for 



128 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

A case at Dan vers. 

Sf — — ■ 

that to answer. But the girl shook her head. Said the 

father, ' How natural they seem ! ' About the same time the 

1692 girl pulled the rank cake from the embers, and as the hot 

scent filled the room, Abigail cried out, * There, there, I see 

them as plain as day.' ' And so do I,' said little Elizabeth ; 

* how many ! and there's old Tit, too : she torments us,' 

* Old Tit torments us/ said they both. It was now all over 
with the magician. In vain she frowned and coaxed by turns, 
or denied that the girls could see witch spectres by the smell 
of her cake only. She discredited her own magic. The more 
she labored, the more they professed to be tormented ; until 
Parris himself took their part, and threatened Tituba with 
punishment, unless she confessed and disclosed her confederate 
witches. And John, too, her husband, when he saw her in 
distress, meanly deserted her. He told master Parris that 
the girls no doubt spoke the truth ; that she had a long time 
tormented him, and was an old hand at it. But discouraged 
and deserted as she was, her master's whip alone, as she after- 
wards affirmed, brought her to lie, and to confess that the 
devil had engaged her to sign his book, and to afflict the chil- 
dren." Tituba was saved as a living witness to the reality of 
witchcraft. She was imprisoned, and afterward sold as a 
slave. These persons were thought to have made '* a cove- 
nant with the devil," resigning to him " both soul and body," 
promising " to honor and serve hira forever," and signing 
"his book." The book in which their signatures were said 
to have been written, or marks made, sometimes with blood, 
is minutely described by Cotton Mather, giving the length, 
breadth, color, etc. The delusion spread, and accusations 
increased. " So firmly convinced were the magistrates, that 
the prince of darkness was in the midst of them, using hu- 
man instruments to accomplish his purposes, that the slightest 



NEW ENGLAND. 129 



The delusion spreads. 



testimony was deemed sufficient to justify commitment for 
trial." 

Children accused their parents ; one of the ministers, Geo. 
Burroughs, and an aged man named George Jacobs, were 
condemned on account partly of the evidence of the grand- 
daughter of Jacobs, who was terrified into confession by the 
threat of being hanged, and used as a witness, for which she 
was liberated. But upon their being condemned to death, 
she sent to the magistrates a recantation, and was again com- 
mitted to prison. " There on her knees, and with many 
tears, she begged pardon of those whom she had so deeply 
injured ; they kindly strove to console her, prayed with her, 
and forgave her." But her statement to the magistrates was 
of no avail ; her grandfather and Burroughs were hung." 

Those who confessed witchcraft, after having been con- 
demned, were released ; while those who retracted a confes- 
sion, were either hung, or imprisoned for trial. The life of 
this young woman, however, was saved by a fit of sickness, 
which necessarily deferred her trial, until the last session of 
the court had terminated, which so readily condemned those 
brought up before it ; and she was tried before one newly or- 
ganized, where she was found not guilty. 

Burroughs declared his innocence to the last, and denied 
that there could be such a thing as witchcraft. It was a new 
thing to hang a minister as a witch, and the spectators were 
much affected ; but Cotton Mather asserted that " the devil 
could sometimes assume the appearance of an angel of light," 
and the proceedings continued. 

In the commencement of this delusion, the persons accused 
were in the lower walks of life, and in many cases, guilty of 
some crime, but now no one seemed exempt, and every one 
became alarmed for himself or his friends ; twenty persons 
had been put to death ; the jails were full of the accused. 



130 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Calef ridicules the subject. Recantations. 

But the night of darkness soon began to pass away. The 
1693 error was combated by writers of ability. In the autumn of 
1693, Ilobert Calef, a Boston merchant, published a narrative 
in which he boldly exposed the whole subject to ridicule, and 
for which he brought upon himself the displeasure of those who 
had taken an active part in the trials. But a new court had 
been instituted. Those brought up for trial were in most in- 
stances acquitted, others were reprieved by the governor, and 
those in prison were set at liberty. Many of the witnesses 
afterward came forward and published " the most solemn re- 
cantations of the testimony they formerly gave, both against 
themselves and others, apologizing for their perjury by a pro- 
testation, of which all were constrained to admit the force, 
that no other means of saving their lives had been left them." 
But the dead could not be recalled ; and the loss of a father 
or mother, a brother or sister, remained to remind many fam- 
ilies of the dark days of New England superstition. 

Under the new charter, all former acts restricting colonial 
commerce were renewed ; this being deemed necessary to pro- 
tect the interests of the landholders at home. The industry of 
the colonists was much restrained by taxation, and the convey- 
ance of wool in any form to any of the other colonies, was 
entirely prohibited. At this early day, the increasing power 
and wealth of the colonists began to excite apprehension in 
the minds of the English, that their dependence on the mother 
country would, after a few years, be entirely thrown off; and 
that they would declare themselves an independent nation, if 
not now kept in check by being made subject to the king. 

The horrors of savage warfare were not yet over in New 
England ; New York was spared by being at peace with the 
Five Nations, with whom the French also had executed a 
treaty. The renewal of war in Europe increased the hostil- 



NEW ENGLAND. 131 

Incursions of the French and Indians. 

ity between the French and English colonies. The French 
from Canada, with their Indian allies, after a long march 
through the snow, would suddenly burst upon some peajeeful 
village, setting fire to the houses, and either killing or 
making captives of men, women and children. In this way 
Deerfield was destroyed. Forty-seven of the inhabitants 1704 
were killed, and one hundred and twelve made prisoners. 
Of these, if any became fatigued or feeble, while on their 
march to Canada, the tomahawk ended their temporal sorrows. 
For two years or more after this, the Indians roamed 
stealthily over the country, executing their murderous work, 
and then suddenly disappearing. 

In 1708, a general attack on New England was planned. 
The French were ready, but many of their Indian allies gave 
out, and did not meet at the place of rendezvous. Although 
prevented from carrying out their original designs, they re- 1708 
solved to accomplish a part of their object, and with those In- 
dian allies who were not yet weary of the cruel work, they 
suddenly burst on the town of Haverhill, at daybreak, attack- 
ing simultaneously different parts of the village. The toma- 
hawk and the rifle spared not their victims, and many of the 
inhabitants were slaughtered on the spot. 

The heart sickens at the relation of these barbarities ; yet 
they form a part of the history of our country, ^nd are re- 
corded in that book which human eye sees not. The desire 
was excited among the New Englanders to exterminate the 
natives, and a reward was offered for every Indian scalp. 

The conquest of Newfoundland had been repeatedly at- 
tempted by the EngHsh, and unsuccessful expeditions against 
Canada and Acadia, now Nova Scotia, had been fitted out 
by the colonies. At length in I'F^O, the New England colo- 
nies, with some assistance from England, succeeded in taking 



132 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Subjugation of Nova Scotia. Expedition against Quebec and Montreal. 

Port Eoyal, and gave to the place the name of Annapolis, in 
honor of Queen Anne. From this period, the British gov- 
ernment has retained possession of Nova Scotia ; her right to 
it having been confirmed by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713. 
Encouraged by success, as well as stimulated by fear, on ac- 
count of the extent of the possessions of the French on the 
west and southwest, by which they could pass from Canada 
to the Gulf of Mexico, an expedition was fitted out the fol- 
lowing year, against Quebec and Montreal. Information of 
this was timely received by the French. Friendship was re- 
newed with the natives, and through the influence of the Jes- 
uits, who had been as missionaries among them, extended to 
other tribes. The British fleet, however, never reached Que» 
bee. Eight ships were wrecked in the St. Lawrence, with the 
loss of upwards of eight hundred lives ; the remainder re- 
turned home. 
1' 1^ At length the European war terminated, and the treaty of 
Utrecht put an end for a time to hostilities between the Eng- 
lish and French colonies in America. 

The New Englanders now found themselves encumbered 
with a heavy public debt. Bills of credit were allowed to be 
issued, the value of which depreciated, notwithstanding the 
exertions of the different legislatures, occasioning much dis- 
satisfaction to the holders of those bills. 

The people of Massachusetts, always firm in the maintenance 
of whatever they considered their rights, after the reception of 
their second charter, and when they were required to receive a 
governor appointed by the king, had refused him any fixed sala- 
ry, but had voted annually such donations as his services ap« 
peared to deserve, with the view of attaching him to the interests 
of the people by rendering him dependent on them. All efforts 
for a fixed salary had been strenuously resisted. In 1728, the 



NEW ENGLAND. 133 



Attacks by the French. Louisburg besieged by the British. 

controversy was renewed ; Burnet, the governor, being in- 
structed by the king to insist on an established sum. The 
people were firm. Burnet threatened an appeal to Parliament, 
and the possible dissolution of the charter. The general 
court persevered, until finally leave was obtained from the 
king to accept the annual donations. Massachusetts had 
gained her point. 

In 1744, war was renewed between France and Eno-land. 

o 

Before information of this was received in New England, the 
French from Cape Breton attacked the English settlement at 1744 
Canseau, in Nova Scotia, destroyed the buildings and took 
the garrison and inhabitants prisoners of war to Louisburg, 
on Cape Breton. The French then attacked Annapolis, and 
from this town were with difficulty driven back. 

These attacks led the governor of Massachusetts to fear 
that by a revolt of the inhabitants, who were of French de- 
scent, the province might again revert to France. He there- 
fore formed the design of attacking Louisburg, a strong 
fortress on the Island of Cape Breton, which protected 
the French commerce and fisheries. The general court, 
after much deliberation, and influenced by the people, who 
feared for the safety of their fisheries, united with the prop- 
osition. Assistance from England was solicited, and Com- 
modore Warren, from Antigua, with a considerable fleet, 
joined the army which had been raised in New England and 
proceeded to Canseau. 

The walls of Louisburg were forty feet thick at the base, 
and from twenty to thirty feet high, surrounded by a ditch 
eighty feet wide. The fortifications of the place had cost 
nearly six millions of dollars, and a number of years had 
been spent in their construction. The English, however, 
knew not their strength.] 



134 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Surrender of Louisburg. Peace between England and France. 

The New Englanders succeeded in landing, and ap- 
proached the town. Hedges were constructed for dragging 
the cannon over the bogs, which the men accomplished, sink- 
ing to their knees in mud, and the siege was commenced. 

No breach had been made in the walls, and it was only 
after the capture of a French frigate, which had been de- 
coyed into the English fleet, and which had on board a 
supply of military stores and of provisions, that the French 
governor began to despond, and soon afterwards offered to 
capitulate. The terms were accepted, every thing was 
surrendered, and as the New England troops beheld the 
fortifications, they were satisfied that no assault could have 
been successful. 

The news of this conquest was received in New England 
with great joy. France, however, not only laid plans for the 
recovery of this strong fortress, from which they had been 
able to annoy the British in the prosecution of their com- 
merce and fisheries, but also for the destruction of the 
English colonies. In 1746, a large fleet was sent for this 
purpose, but encountering severe storms and disease, having 
lost their commander, and some of the vessels being wrecked, 
the remainder returned to France. In the following year a 
fleet was sent out with troops for Canada and Nova Scotia, 
but was encountered and overcome by the English. 
1 * ^" Soon afterward, the treaty of Aix la Chapelle restored 
peace to France and England. As is often the case, nothing 
had been gained by the war. In the colonies, the treaty 
restored to the French the possessions that had been taken 
by the New Englanders, so that the victory at Louisburg 
availed nothing. The boundaries between the French and 
English colonies remained unsettled. 

From this period New England enjoyed a season of repose. 



NEW ENGLAND. 135 



Advancement. of the colonies. 



In 1760 the population numbered half a million, and the 
colonies had acquired considerable importance. Their trade 
had very much increased, notwithstanding the restrictions 
laid upon it by the British government. Hats were to some 
extent manufactured, but the transportation of them from 
one colony to another was forbidden, as it interfered with the 
hatters of England; and in 1719, it was declared by the 
House of Commons, that " the erecting of manufactories in 
the colonies, tended to lessen their dependence on Great 
Britain.'* 

Large quantities of lumber and jSsh were sent annually to 
the West Indies. Linen cloth was manufactured to a con- 
siderable extent. Ship-building was carried on from an 
early period. A large part of the trade of the other Ameri- 
can colonies was conducted by means of vessels owned in 
New England. 

The first periodical published in the country was the Bos- 
ton News Letter, commenced in Boston in 1704, issued 
weekly on a sheet of foolscap size. After fourteen years, an 
extra sheet was issued each fortnight, to enable the publisher 
to keep up with the news from Europe, in which the paper 
had fallen behind thirteen months. Some of the first num- 
bers of this paper may now be seen at the Antiquarian Hall 
at Worcester. 

Another paper was commenced in 1719 ; and in the same 
year one in Philadelphia, being the third in the country. 
The New England Courant was next published by James 
Franklin, in 1721, assisted, as an apprentice, by his brother 
Benjamin, whose talents contributed to the interest of the 
paper, until, wishing for greater liberty of the press than was 
there allowed, he left New England, and found his way to 
Philadelphia. 



136 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Remarks. 

Accustomed as we are in the nineteenth century, to floods 
of newspapers and other periodicals, many of them far worse 
than useless, we can scarcely imagine the avidity with which 
the first efforts of the kind must have been greeted, with no 
other means of information from distant points than the 
product of the pen, or the relation of an occasional trav- 
eller. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

NEW NETHERLANDS, UNTIL ITS FINAL TRANSFER TO 
ENGLAND. 

Henry Hudson. Discovers the Hudson River. 

The Dutch partook of the desire of other commercial 
nations to discover a northwest passage to India. It was in 
one of the voyages made for this purpose, that the Hudson 
river was discovered and explored. 

In 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman, in the employ- 1609 
ment of the Dutch East India Company, sailed in search of 
the long sought passage in a small vessel manned with Hol- 
landers and Englishmen. Hudson had made two voyages to 
the arctic regions with the same object, and had been within 
eight degrees of the pole. Passing by Grreenland he now 
sailed along the coast as far south as Virginia ; then turn- 
ing to the north, he discovered and examined Delaware Bay, 
and in five months after leaving Holland, anchored within 
Sandy Hook. Passing through the Narrows, ten days were 
employed in exploring the river as far as the site of the 
present city of Hudson, and a boat advanced to the site of 
Albany. Having completed the discovery, Hudson sailed 
down the river which now bears his name, and returned to 
Europe. Frequent intercourse had been held vrith the 
Indians who welcomed these strange visitors amono- them. 

Although Hudson had not attained the object of his voy- 
age, he gave a glowing account of his discoveries to the 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Trading establishments at Manhattan and Albany. 



Dutch East India Company, but never himself revisited 
that part of the continent, and perished in one of his voyages 
amid seas of ice. 

The Dutch claimed the country bordering on the Hudson 
river by right of discovery, and a vessel from Amsterdam 
"was fitted out by a body of merchants to trade with the 
natives. The voyage was prosperous and was renewed. Thus 
commenced the trading establishment on the Island of Man- 
hattan, now New York. 
1614 The States-general granted a patent for the exclusive 
trade of the newly-discovered lands, and in consequence, 
several ships sailed for America. Careful records of these 
voyages have not been preserved, but the coast appears to 
have been examined as far as Cape Cod, and the Connecticut 
river explored. 

A trading station was established on an island just below 
the present city of Albany in 1615 ; and, although a fort 
had been erected on Manhattan Island, now New York, as 
yet there was no colony. Families had not emigrated ; and 
it was not until 1621, when the disturbances at home had 
subsided, that the attention of the Dutch West India Com- 
pany was turned toward colonization. In that year the 
Dutch republic granted them an extensive territory on both 
sides of the Hudson river, extending as far south as the Del- 
aware, and east to the Connecticut. 

For some years the settlement at Manhattan was little 
more than a trading establishment. Indians from a distance 
came to procure articles of European manufacture in ex- 
change for their furs. 

In 1627, a delegation was sent to the Pilgrims of Ply- 
mouth, proposing to establish a treaty of friendship and com- 
merce. It was well received ; but the Pilgrims, in common 



NEW NETHERLANDS. 139 

Conveyance of land by the Indians. Good Hope. 

with other English, questioned the right of the Dutch to the 
Hudson river, and recommended a treaty with England. 
With the expression of mutual good wishes the parties sepa- 
rated. 

It had been stipulated by the Directors of the Company 
that the soil should be purchased of the Indians ; and in 
1629, a deed was ratified and duly recorded for the purchase 1629 
of the territory extending from Cape Henlopen, thirty miles 
north. The opposite shore in New Jersey, Staten Island, 
the country round Hoboken, and the land from Albany to 
the mouth of the Mohawk, were also conveyed. 

The Company had designed to favor colonization, and yet 
retain the trade of the province ; and that the monopoly of 
the Dutch manufacturers might not be impaired, the colo- 
nists were forbidden to make any woollen, linen, or cotton 
fabrics. 

An attempt was made to establish a colony in the tract 
on Delaware Bay, purchased from the natives. Vessels 
sailed laden with seeds, cattle and agricultural implements, 
and a settlement was planted near Lewistown. But those to 
whom the colony was entrusted during the absence of the 
founder, could not avoid contests with the Indians. The life 
of a chief was lost, and the death of every emigrant was the 
consequence. 

The Dutch had been the first to discover the Connecticut. 
They had purchased of the natives the country around Hart- 
ford, and commenced a small settlement there called Good 
Hope, two years before the emigrants from Boston began the 
commonwealth of Connecticut. But this was not considered 
sufficient to secure the territory against other settlers on a 
soil which England claimed as her exclusive right. Alter- 
cations continued for years, until the Dutch were obliged to 



140 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

New Sweden. 

yield the land they had first visited, which they had also pur- 
chased from the natives, and where they had first traded. 

The territory claimed by the Dutch was also encroached 
upon at its southern extremity. A commercial company, 
with the right of planting colonies, had been incorporated by 
the States of Sweden, and received the favor of the king, 
Gustavus Adolphus. Men of different nations were invited 
to join in the enterprise. Slave labor was not to be allowed. 
The Swedes appeared to be sensible of the advantages of free, 
compensated labor, performed by persons of intelligence. 

In 1638, a little company of Swedes and Fins arrived in 
Delaware Bay. The Swedish government had provided 
them with provisions and merchandise for trafiic with the 
1638 natives. The lands from the southern cape to the falls in the 
river near Trenton, were purchased of the Indians; and near 
the mouth of Christiana Creek, within the limits of the 
present State of Delaware, they began their settlement. The 
plantations were gradually extended, and to preserve their 
ascendency over the Dutch, who protested against their oc- 
cupancy of the land, the governor established his residence at 
Tinicum, a few miles below the subsequent location of Phila- 
delphia. The whole country occupied by them became known 
as New Sweden. 

While the limits of New Netherlands were thus becomins: 
narrowed on the east and on the south, the colony was 
almost annihilated by the neighboring Algonquin tribes. 
Bloody quarrels had arisen between dishonest traders and 
natives to whom they had sold intoxicating liquors. Re- 
venge dwells in the bosom of the savage, and the son of a 
chief, in return for the murder of one of his friends, sought the 
first opportunity of killing a Hollander. The river chieftains 
expressed their sorrow, and offered to console the grief of the 



NEW NETHERLANDS. 141 



Massacre of the Indians. 



widow by " two liundred fathom of the best wampum," but 
refused to deliver the murderer to the Dutch, remindino- them 
that they were the cause of the evil, by " crazing the young 
Indians with brandy." 

Just at this time, the Algonquins were alarmed by the 1643 
approach of the formidable warriors of the Mohawks, and 
begged assistance of the Dutch against their Indian enemies. 
But governor Kieft, instead of improving the opportunity of 
making friends of the Algonquins, and acting as arbiter 
between them and the Mohawks, chose an exterminatins: 
massacre. 

In the stillness of a dark winter's night, led by a guide 
who knew every by-path, the soldiers from the fort, joined 
by others from Dutch privateers, crossed the Hudson for the 
purpose of destruction. Nearly a hundred of the unsuspect- 
ing Indians were killed. 

The massacre was held in detestation by the colonist?, who, 
after a treaty of peace had been made with the natives, de- 
posed their governor, and sent him to Holland. The ship in 
which he sailed was dashed to pieces on the coast of Wales. 

As might have been expected, the unsubdued savao-es 
burned with revenge for the midnight attack ; and by their 
ambushes, surprised the Dutch in every direction. Villages 
were destroyed, men were murdered in the open country, chil- 
dren were carried into captivity. 

The Dutch colony was threatened with ruin, and some of 
the settlers returned to Holland. A convention of sachems 
met envoys from Manhattan in the woods of Rockaway, to 
deliberate on terms of peace. The issue would have remained 
uncertain, but for the presence of Roger Williams, on his 
way to England. Through his mediation, terms of peace were 
settled. But the young men among the Indians were still 



142 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Adjustment of claims. Subjection of the Swedish colony. 

unsatisfied, and the war was renewed. With this little inter- 
mission, it lasted two years, until, both parties desiring peace, 
a solemn treaty was signed. 

The Dutch had now learned by sorrowful experience, to 
pursue a different system toward the natives, and when 
Peter Stuyvesant became governor of the province, in 1646, 
it was resolved to treat them with lenity. 
1648 The monopoly in regard to trade, established by the Dutch 
"West India Company, they had not been able to enforce. 
Some restrictions were taken off, and the prosperity of the 
colony increased. In 1650, Stuyvesant entered into negotia- 
tion for the preservation of the Dutch claims on the Con- 
necticut. He repaired to Hartford, and after several days' 
controversy on the subject, articles of agreement were signed, 
by which the Dutch were to retain possession of Long Island 
as far as Oyster Bay, and of those lands on the Connecticut 
which they were actually occupying. 

The governor next turned his attention to the banks of the 
Delaware, where the Swedes had established themselves ; and 
for the security of their commerce, he built a fort on the site 
of New Castle, near the mouth of the Brandywine, within 
five miles of Christiana, a Swedish settlement. 

Jealousies resulted from this encroachment. The garrison 
at the fort was attacked, and a war followed, which ended in 
the subjection of the Swedish colony to the Dutch, after 
having maintained a separate existence for seventeen years. 
They had succeeded in making permanent settlements on the 
Delaware, and had preserved peace with the Indians. Emi- 
gration to the country near the Hudson increased. Religious 
toleration was allowed. Although the zeal of Stuyvesant for 
Calvinism had led him sometimes to persecute Lutherans 
and others, yet the Directors of the Company wrote to him. 



NEW NETHERLANDS. 



143 



British squadron at New Amsterdam. 



" Let every peaceful citizen enjoy freedom of conscience," so 
that wanderers from many a country found a home on the 
Island of Manhattan. French Protestants came in great num- 
bers, and the Hollanders themselves, being of various origin, 
made the population indeed a mixed people. 

Amid the tide of voluntary emigration, there was another 
class, torn from their homes and transported to the New 
World, to serve only as slaves. The Dutch West India 
Company did not scruple to engage in the slave trade, and in 
proportion to the population. New York in 1664 had im- 
ported as many Africans as Virginia. They were sold at 
public auction, to the highest bidder. 

Many discontents had arisen in the colony by the un- 1664 
willingness of the people to submit to the arbitrary laws 
of the home government. There were many English at 
Manhattan, whole towns had been settled by New Eng- 
land men, and the colonists listened with complacency to the 
hope of obtaining English liberties, by submitting to English 
jurisdiction. That country had never been satisfied with the 
possession of New Netherlands by the Dutch. Cromwell 
had planned its conquest, and now it was threatened with 
danger from Charles II. Massachusetts had not relinquished 
its claim to an unlimited extent of territory to the west, and 
Connecticut by its charter extended to the Pacific ; that 
colony was advancing, not only on Long Island, but toward 
the Hudson. Stuyvesant remonstrated, and repaired to 
Boston ; but with no success. 

In 1664, Charles II granted to his brother, the Duke 
of York, the whole territory from the Connecticut river to the 
shores of the Delaware. In order to enforce this claim, the 
English squadron which carried the commissioners for New 
England to Boston, was sent out. Having touched at that 



144 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Surrender of the colony to Great Britain. New Jersey. 

1664 place, the fleet proceeded to New Amsterdam, the name by 
which the town on Manhattan Island was then known, and 
demanded its surrender. The governor endeavored to assert 
the rights of the Dutch ; but the local government, knowing 
that resistance would be useless, wished to surrender without 
bloodshed. The British commander, Nichols, offered secu- 
rity to life, liberty and property, on condition of England's 
sovereignty being acknowleged. A capitulation was finally 
agreed upon, and quietly effected. Security was promised to 
the customs, religion and local government of the Dutch, and 
Manhattan now first became known as New York. The 
colonists were satisfied ; very few embarked for Holland. 
The surrender extended to Albany, and to the settlements 
on the Delaware. 

The tract between that river and the Hudson had already 
been conveyed to Lord Berkely and Sir George Carteret, 
proprietaries of Carolina, and received the name of New Jer- 
sey. New England Puritans, as well as some of the Society of 
Friends, had already established themselves on the Raritan. 
To encourage the rapid settlement of the province, the pro- 
prietaries allowed the establishment of a representative govern- 
ment, with freedom from all taxation, except by the act of 
the colonial assembly, and the undisturbed enjoyment of 
liberty of conscience, by every peaceful citizen. Lands were 
promised at a very low quitrent, payable after 1670. The 
proprietaries of New Jersey not only encouraged the slave 
trade, but added to the injustice, by offering a bounty on the 
importation of every able-bodied slave. 

Nichols, who had assumed the command of the territory he 
had conquered, as deputy-governor for the Duke of York, pro- 
tested against the division of his province. But the people of 
New Jersey were satisfied with the liberties they had received, 
and acknowledged Philip Carteret as their governor. 



NEW NETHERLANDS. 145 



Surrender to the Dutch and re-transfer to the English. 

The population and prosperity increased. Elizabethtown 
became the capital. The rights of the natives were respected, 
and in the sale of their lands they were satisfied. The vi- 
<jinity of older settlements saved the emigrants from distress, 
and no difficulty occurred until the quitrents became due. 1670 
These were objected to on the ground that a purchase from 
the native inhabitants gave a title to the soil. Disputes 
ensued ; the authority of the governor could not be main- 
tained : the colonists appointed their own magistrates, and 
Carteret withdrew to England. 

In New York, all the concessions expected by English juris- 
diction had not been obtained. The city of New York was in- 
corporated in 1665, but no represeptation of the people was 
allowed. The government of the Duke of York was so un- 
popular, that when war again broke out between England 
and the Netherlands, the latter country sent a squadron to 
New York, and the city immediately surrendered. New 
Jersey offered no resistance, and the whole colony once more 
fell into the hands of the Dutch, to be held only for fifteen 
months, when it was finally transferred to England in 1674. 



13 



CHAPTER XIII. 

NEW JERSEY AS A SEPARATE PROVINCE. 
Division into East and West New Jersey The Society of Friends. 

On the final transfer of New Netherlands to England, 
Berkelj and Carteret again entered into possession of New 
Jersey. Berkelj sold his half of the province to a few indi- 
viduals of the Society of Friends, who desired to establish a 
refuge there from the pe-rsecution to which the Society was 
exposed throughout all Europe, as well as in New England. 
The following year a large company set sail for this asylum, 
and landing at a pleasant spot on the Delaware, called it Salem. 
The control of that part of the province sold by Berkely, 
soon afterward fell into the hands of William Penn, and two 
other members of the Society of Friends. They desired a 
division of the province, in order to establish a government. 
This was readily effected. Their portion received the name 
of West New Jersey, and that of Carteret, East New Jersey. 
A constitution was then sent out by the proprietaries, called 
the ** Concessions," which granted civil and religious liberty. 
The rights of the natives were protected, and orphans, who 
should be needy, were to be educated by the State. 

In 1G77, several hundred Friends arrived from England. 
Lands were purchased of the Indians, and religious meetings 
were held in peace, at Burlington, their first settlement. 
The Indian chiefs were rejoiced at the prospect of permanent 
peace, and declared their intention of living like brothers 
with the English. 



NEW JERSEY. 147 



The whole province purchased by William Penn and other Friends. 

Andros, governor of New York, afterward governor-gen- 
eral of New England, continued, on behalf of the Duke of 
York, to claim New Jersey as a part of his territory, and 
exacted customs of the ships ascending the Delaware. The 
question was referred for settlement in England, where a 
formal recognition of independence was procured. The Duke 
of York after this relinquished all claim to the territory. 

The settlement of the State rapidly progressed. In 1681, 
the first representative assembly was held, and the govern- 
ment framed on the basis of humanity. The sale of ardent 
spirits to the Indians was prohibited. 

In the meantime, William Penn, with eleven others of the 1682 
Society of Friends, purchased East New Jersey of the heirs 
of Carteret. On the organization of their government, Rob- 
ert Barclay, one of the Society, known al o as an eminent 
writer, was appointed governor for life, of whom George 
Bancroft says, "a man whose soul breathed enthusiasm 
and love," and " whose merits as chief proprietary are attest- 
ed by his wise selection of deputies, and by the peace and 
happiness of the colony." 

This part of the State, heretofore peopled chiefly by Puri- 
tans from New England, now became the asylum of Scottish 
Presbyterians, driven from their own country by the violence 
of persecution. Both parts of the State were blessed with 
peace and abundance. The education of children was not 
neglected, and in a few years a system of free schools was 
established. 

On the accession of James II to the throne, he attempted 
to deprive New Jersey of its chartered privileges, in entire 
disregard of the engagements he had made while Duke of 
York. A series of collisions was the consequence, until the 
proprietaries, at the commencement of the reign of Queen 



148 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

New Jersey becomes a royal proTince. 

Anne, weary of continued disputes, resigned their rights to 
the crown. The queen united East and West New Jersey 
1702 i^ 0^6 province under the government of her cousin, Lord 
Cornbury, whom she had also appointed governor of New 
York. His administration, in both these provinces, was ren- 
dered unpopular by his encroachments on the rights of the 
people, which the colonial legislatures were ever ready to 
resist. 

The queen, considering that inconvenience might arise by 
allowing liberty of the press, prohibited the printing of any 
book, pamphlet or other matters, without a license. 

After this, New York and New Jersey continued united 
under the same governor, each province however having a 
separate assembly, until 1738, when, on a petition of the 
inhabitants, a separate governor was appointed. The popula- 
tion of New Jersey at this time, amounted to about forty 
thousand. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

NEW YORK. {Continued from Nexc Netherlands.) 
Arbitrary gOTernment of Andros. 

On the re-conquest of New Netherlands by the English, 
the country "was again conveyed to the Duke of York. He 
appointed Edmund Andros governor, who renewed the abso- 1674 
lute authority of the proprietary. Trade was prohibited 
without the permission of the Duke of York, and duties were 
established on exports and imports. No representative gov- 
ernment had been allowed, and the legality of customs 
assessed in this way was denied. The Duke of York was 
earnestly entreated to grant to the people a share in the gov- 
ernment, and in 1683, perceiving unequivocal symptoms of 
discontent with the arbitrary course that had been pursued, he 
yielded, and appointed Thomas Dongan governor, with in- 
structions to call an assembly of the representatives of the 
people. 

In the fall of the same year, the representatives met and 
established for themselves a " Charter of Liberties." But 
this state of things was of short duration. On the acces- 
sion of James II to the throne, in 1685, he not only retracted 
the liberties which he himself had conceded, but imposed 
additional taxes. He also forbade the existence of a printing- 
press in the colony. 

In 1678, the province contained about twenty thousand 
inhabitants ; the island of New York, perhaps about three 
thousand. Those were days of primitive simplicity ; luxury 

13* 



150 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Iroquois or Five Nations. 

was unknown, wagons were used instead of carriages, and the 
inhabitants had to depend on home-made cloth for their wear- 
ing apparel. They were hospitable and ready to relieve the 
poor. The professions of religion were very various. About 
fifteen vessels traded yearly to the port, bringing English 
manufactures, and carrying, in return, the productions of the 
soil, chiefly wheat, lumber and tobacco, as well as some furs 
procured from the Indians. 

The attention of Dongan was necessarily turned towards 
Indian affairs. The five nations, dwelling within the present 
limits of the State of New York, the Mohawks, Oneidas, 
Onondagos, Cayugas and Senecas, had formed a strong con- 
federacy, and had attained a greater degree of power than 
any other North American tribes. They had extended their 
conquests from the St. Lawrence to Virginia, and had subju- 
gated the Eries and the Hurons, the Miamis and the Illi- 
nois, having become more formidable, by receiving fire-arms 
from the Dutch, and incorporating their enemies among them- 
selves. Hostilities had for a long series of years existed 
between the Iroquois or Five Nations, and the French in 
Canada. The territory of the Indians had been invaded, but 
the Canadians had been driven back, and the destruction of 
the French settlements was afterward contemplated by the 
natives. 

The friendship of the Mohawks for the Dutch, had served 
as some protection against encroachments from Canada ; and 
the struggle with the French increased the desire of the Iro- 
quois for a treaty with the English. Deputies from the Five 
1684 Nations met the governors of New York and Virginia, at 
Albany, and a treaty of peace and friendship was made in 
the summer of 1684. 

In 1688, the colonies of New York and New Jersey, as 



NEW JERSEY. 151 



Burning of Schenectady. 



already related, were added to the dominion of Andros, 1688 
governor-general of New England. He was equally un- 
popular here ; his arbitrary measures and the annexation of 
the colony to New England, caused great dissatisfaction. 

On receiving the intelligence of the accession of William 
and Mary to the throne of England, and of the successful re- 
sistance in Boston to the government of Andros, the author- 
ity of those sovereigns was proclaimed in New York, and 
the agent of the governor-general fled to England. Jacob 
Leisler, who assumed the chief power, was a Dutchman, and 
relied for his support on the less educated classes of the 
Dutch. Of these he possessed the confidence and esteem, 
but he was not at all qualified to govern, and was opposed by 
the rest of the inhabitants, who were yet willing to submit to 
William and Mary. 

On the declaration of war between England and France, 
the governor of Canada considered himself authorized to at- 
tack the English settlements, and having obtained a treaty of 
neutrality with the Five Nations, he sent a company of French 
and Indians into New York, early in 1690. After wander- 169 
ing through the snow, they approached Schenectady at night, 
and finding the town without a guard, set fire to it in various 
places, attacking the inhabitants as they endeavored to fly 
from the flames. Sixty persons were killed, and nearly half 
as many made prisoners. The suJEferings of those who escaped 
to Albany through a snow storm were intense, and many 
limbs were lost by the frost. 

This outrage roused the indignation of the colonies, and a 
general congress assembled at New York on the 1st of Fifth 
month, (May,) 1690. A combined expedition against Canada 
was projected, but failed for want of unanimity of action. 

In 1691, Henry Sloughter, having been appointed gover- 



152 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Expeditions against Canada. Slow progress of the colony. 

1691 nor by king William, arrived in New York. Leisler, un- 
willing to surrender the authority he had exercised, was ar- 
rested, and finally sentenced to death, on a charge of high 
treason. During the administration of Sloughter, a new 
treaty was executed with the Five Nations. 

The strong passion for the conquest of Canada remained 
■unabated. Difficulties between the French and English 
colonies were continually occurring ; and under different gov- 
ernors, expeditions were sent into Canada, causing on both 
sides suffering and heavy losses. 

The succession of governors, their various controversies 
with the people, the unsuccessful attempts to establish the 
Episcopal religion, need not here be recapitulated. The wars 
which prevailed on the frontiers, prevented the extensive 
settlement of the interior, and in the middle of the eighteenth 
century, the whole population of the province did not exceed 
one hundred thousand. 



CHAPTER XY. 

CAROLINA. 



Carolina granted by Charles II. Various claimants for the district. 

In 1663, the province of Carolina, extending from the 1663 
thirty-sixth to the thirty-first degree of north latitude, was 
erected into one territory, and granted by Charles II, to 
eight of his courtiers, as proprietaries. Their authority was 
nearly absolute, and their object, the increase of their own 
wealth and dignity. 

The grant was made without any reference to the claims of 
Spain, who included the territory within the limits of Florida. 
Nor was Spain the only claimant for Carolina. Emigrants 
from New England had already planted themselves on Cape 
Fear river, far to the south of any English settlement on the 
continent, and had purchased the soil of the Indian chiefs. 
Their agents in London pleaded the purchase and occupancy 
of the soil, as affording a valid title. The proprietaries prom- 
ised them religious freedom, a representative assembly and 
land at a very low rent. These offers, however, were not suf- 
ficiently inviting to induce them to remain, and having a vast 
extent of territory before them, the emigrants mostly deserted. 
The sufierings of those that were left became such, that relief 
was sent from Massachusetts, by a general contribution among 
her people. 

The proprietaries claimed, by a second grant, all the land 
lying between twenty-nine degrees and thirty-six degrees 
thirty minutes, north latitude, embracing the present limits of 



154 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Distinct settlements. North Carolina. Constitution of Locke. 

North and South Carolina and Greorgia, and extending west- 
ward to the Pacific Ocean. Within these limits, on the north 
side of Albemarle Sound, a number of families from Vir<yinia 
had settled, and Berkolj, governor of Virginia, was commis- 
sioned to establish a government over this part of the territory. 
He visited the colony, confirmed the titles to the land, in- 
stituted a general assembly, and appointed a governor of 
North Carolina. 

Still another independent settlement was made. Sever il 
planters of Barbadoes, dissatisfied with their condition, and 
desiring to plant a colony under their exclusive direction, sent 
a vessel with persons to examine the country on Cape Fear 
river. Hearing a favorable report of the climate and soil, 
and that the natives promised peace, they purchased a tract 
of land near the neglected settlement of the New Englanders, 
and petitioned of the proprietaries a confirmation of the pur- 
chase, and a separate charter of government. Liberal terms 
were acceded to, and a governor was appointed. The coun- 
try was called Clarendon. In the fall of 1665, a band of 
1665 emigrants from Barbadoes laid the foundation of a town, 
which, however, did not flourish. Yet the colony made some 
advances ; it exported boards, shingles and staves to Bar- 
badoes ; emigration increased, and in 16G6, the plantation is 
said to have contained eight hundred persons. These two 
colonies were afterward united, and formed the foundation 
of the State of North Carolina. 

Meantime designs were formed by the proprietaries of es- 
tablishing a vast empire in the west ; and John Locke, the 
philosopher, was engaged in drafting a constitution, which 
should be worthy of enduring througliout all ages. An attempt 
was made to connect hereditary wealth and political power ; 
and to form a government on other principles than those of 



CAROLINA. 155 



Enforcement of the navigation acts. Rebellion. Tranquillity restored. 

republicanism. Orders of nobility were created. But the 
magnificent model of a constitution did not comport with the 
humble settlements of Carolina. All attempts to introduce 
it were unsuccessful. 

The plantation of Albemarle was increasing. Emigrants 
had arrived from New England and from the Bermudas. 
The colony was contented. Freedom of religion was con- 
ceded, and no taxation required, except by the colonial legis- 
lature. 

But this happy state of things did not long continue. The 
trade of the province was small, and carried on principally 
with New England. Yet, inconsiderable as it was, the navi- 
gation acts must be enforced ; and a tax of a penny was levied 
on every pound of tobacco sent to New England. This cre- 
ated much dissatisfaction, and, added to the oppressive meas- 
ures of the deputy governor, led to an open rebellion in 
1678. The proprietary officers were imprisoned, and the 1678 
royal revenue seized. A government was then organized, 
and courts of justice established ; after which agents were ap- 
pointed to represent the grievances of the people in England, 
and to offer submission, on condition of having their past 
proceedings confirmed. The proprietaries sent out one of 
their number to restore order in the colony. But he was 
faithless toward his partners, and tyrannical in the govern- 
ment. After five years, he was deposed, and an appeal once 
more made to the proprietaries. The planters immediately 
recovered tranquillity, and esteemed themselves happy. 

The first settlement in South Carolina was made by the 
proprietaries in 1670, After a short delay at Port Royal, 1670 
the emigrants sailed into Ashley river, and selecting what 
they considered a good situation, began their first town. A 
representative government was established. The settlement 



156 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Dissensions in South Carolina. Slavery. Refugees from persecution. 

1670 was attended with great privations, yet supplies were received 
from the proprietaries. 

For a few years, comparative independence was enjoyed, 
but civil dissensions afterward arose, in consequence of an 
attempt, on the part of the proprietaries, to establish Episco- 
pacy. This was resisted by the colonists, who were of differ- 
ent religious persuasions, and scenes of discord ensued. Al- 
though the Establishment of England became, by law, the 
religion of the country, it could not be forced upon the peo- 
ple. Meantime the population steadily increased, and began 
to extend their settlements along the rivers. 

Slavery in Carolina commenced with the settlements on 
Ashley river. A few Africans were at first introduced from 
Barbadoes ; but the importations were so great, that before 
many years, they far outnumbered the white inhabitants. 
The labor of felling the forests, and of tilling the soil, was 
imposed upon this class of the population. It was early ob- 
served that the climate here was more congenial to the Afri- 
can, than that of the more northern colonies, aud to this fact, 
in part, may be attributed the more rapid extension of this 
system of oppression in the southern provinces. 

Emigrants of various religious persuasions, continued to 
arrive from England, Ireland and Holland. Huguenots, or 
French Protestants, escaping from persecution, after the revo- 
cation of the edict of Nantz, here found a refuge. Some fled 
to New York, others to Massachusetts ; but South Carolina 
was their principal resort, the warmer climate being more in- 
viting to fugitives from the south of France. The city of 
Charleston was founded in 1672, and steadily increased. 

A settlement of Scots on the Island of Port Royal, made 
in 1684, was entirely laid waste by the Spaniards, who con- 
sidered this a part of their territory. Some of the emigrants 



CAROLINA. 157 



Wise administration of Archdale. 



returned to Scotland, others mingled with the earlier settlers 1686 
of the province, further north. 

Disputes frequently arose with the proprietaries, of which 
the recital is not important, and would be uninteresting. 
Their power over the colony, never very strong, became 
gradually weaker, until the colonists were virtually inde- 
pendent. 

In 1695, during a season of much discord, John Archdale, 
a member of the Society of Friends, was appointed governor 
of South Carolina. His administration was marked by wis- 
dom and prudence, and his conciliatory measures were suc- 
cessful. The friendship of the Indians was cultivated, and a 
board of arbitrators appointed to settle all disputes with them. 
It had been the practice for some years past, but opposed by 
the proprietaries, to kidnap Indians and sell them in the West 
Indies for slaves. Governor Archdale protected the Indians 
against this outrage, and in their turn, they befriended mari- 
ners, shipwrecked on their coast. The governor also liber- 
ated four Indians, converts of the Spanish priests, who were 
offered for sale, and sent them to St. Augustine. This was 
the foundation of friendly feelings between the two colonies ; 
and the act was reciprocated when an English vessel was 
wrecked on the coast of Florida. 

Meantime Carolina prospered. The rice plant had, at an 
early period, been introduced from Madagascar. New modes 
of cleaning it were invented, and the rice of Carolina began 
to be esteemed the best in the world. Furs were soon ex- 
ported, and the valuable pine, applied to its various uses, 
gave rise to additional trade. 

After the termination of Archdale's administration, and 
his return to England, a successful attempt was made to es- 
tablish the Episcopal religion, and all dissenters were disfran- 

14 



158 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

The Tuscaroras. Indian wars. 

chised, notwithstanding they formed by far the larger part of 
the colony. An appeal to the queen resulted in the intol- 
erant acts being declared void ; but the religion established in 
England, became by law the religion of this province, and 
continued so until the American Revolution. 
1711 The Tuscaroras, residing within the limits of North Caro- 
lina, had become jealous of the encroachments of the whites, 
and indignant at their lands being given to others, without 
their relinquishment of the right to them. Two of the colo- 
nists ascending the Neuse river in a boat, were seized by a 
party of Indians, conveyed to a village of the Tuscaroras 
and delivered to their chief. After a discussion of two days, 
their death was decreed. 

One of them, the surveyor-general, who had divided their 
land for settlers, was killed. The other, after having been 
detained prisoner for about five weeks, was allowed to return, 
on condition that his people should occupy no land without 
the consent of the tribe. But during his absence, a work of 
desolation had been effected. The Indians had made an 
attack on the cabins of the settlers. For three days they 
scoured the country, murdering men, women and children, 
and setting fire to their dwellings. 

Assistance was sent from South Carolina, the Indians were 
overcome, and a treaty of peace was negotiated. But the 
treaty being violated by the troops from South Carolina, hos- 
tilities were renewed. The Tuscaroras being again defeated, 
became disheartened, and finally, abandoning their old hunt- 
ing grounds, migrated to the north, in the neighborhood of 
Oneida lake, where they were welcomed by the Iroquois, and 
became the sixth nation of their confederacy. 

After the administration of Archdale in South Carolina 
had terminated, Indian wars involved the colony in a series 



CAROLINA. 159 



War with the Yamassees. 



of difficulties. A heavy debt was occasioned by an expedi- 
tion against St. Augustine, and religious disputes agitated the 
settlers. 

In 1715, a war occurred with the Yamassees, a tribe of 1715 
Indians residing within the limits of South Carolina. A con- 
siderable trade had been carried on with them, and they had 
become largely in debt to the planters, who now pressed them 
for payment. The Indians considered that they had been 
wronged ; a feeling was excited, which rapidly spread among 
them, and led them to meditate revenge, and even to plan a 
massacre. A number of traders were murdered. One of them 
escaped to Port Royal, where he gave the alarm, and the inhabi- 
tants fled to Charleston, in canoes and one ship, which was at the 
time in the harbor. Bands of Indians wandered over the 
country, attacking different settlements by night, killing some 
of the inhabitants, and taking others prisoners. Charleston was 
in danger. At last, after a conflict had taken place, the Indians 
gave way and were pushed beyond the limits of Carolina. 

Frequent difficulties continued to occur between the pro- 
prietaries and the colonists until 1719, when the assembly 
resolved " to have no more to do with the proprietors." Their 
agents were quietly dismissed, an appeal was made to the 
government at home, and South Carolina became a royal 
province. One of the first acts of the new governor, was to 
establish a treaty of peace and commerce with the natives. 

This revolution was confined to South Carolina. The pro- 
prietary government became entirely dissolved in 1729, the 
jurisdiction over the territory of North Carolina being sold 
to the crown, and a royal governor also appointed for this 
province. The two colonies, although with separate governors 
and assemblies, had remained under the same proprietaries. 
They now became entirely distinct, and the prosperity of 



160 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Treaties with the Indians. 

both was promoted. Attempts were immediately made to 
secure the friendship of the neighboring Indian tribes. A 
delegation of the English met a council of the chiefs of the 
Cherokees, in the valley of the Tennessee. A deputation 
of the Indians was appointed to visit England, where a treaty 
of friendship was ratified. By this treaty no white men, ex- 
cept the English, were to occupy the lands of the Cherokees. 
The population of both North and South Carolina had been 
mostly confined to the neighborhood of the sea-coast ; but 
the fertility of the interior was discovered, emigrants from the 
more northern colonies soon brought it under cultivation, and 
the population rapidly increased. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 



Grant to William Penn. 



William Penn, son of Admiral Penn of the British navy, 
having become much interested in the colonization on the 
Delaware by his connection with New Jersey, and learning 
that a tract of land, lying between the possessions of the Duke 
of York and those of Lord Baltimore, was still unoccupied, 
presented a petition for a grant of that section. Although 
Penn met with opposition in the pursuit of his object, yet he 
was sustained by friends high in authority, and a grant was 
finally made. The tract extended west from the Delaware, 
including five degrees of longitude and three degrees of 
latitude, and was named by the king, Pennsylvania. The 
charter constituted William Penn and his heirs, absolute pro- 
prietaries of the province, and conceded powers of govern- 
ment similar to those of the charter for Maryland. In rela- 
tion to this projected colony, William Penn writes thus : 
** God will bless and make it the seed of a nation. I shall 
have a tender care of the government, that it be well laid at 
first." 

Pennsylvania included the principal settlements of the 
Swedes. Penn, on assuming the government, addressed all 
the inhabitants of the province, assuring them that he should 
•' heartily comply " with whatever "sober and free men" 
could "■ reasonably desire for the security and improvement 
of their own happiness." This promise was ever faithfully 

14* 



162 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Friends emigrate. Letter to the Indians. 

1681 kept. William Markham, a relative of Penn, who had 
been appointed his agent, conveyed this letter to America. 

In the summer of 1681, a company of emigrants, princi- 
pally Friends, sailed for a home in the western world. With 
them were forwarded instructions respecting planting a city. 
At the same time Penn addressed the natives of the country, 
expressing to them that he and they were answerable to one 
God, having the same law written in their hearts, by which 
they were commanded to love and do good to one another ; 
stating his desire to enjoy the province with their love and 
consent, and that they might live together as neighbors and 
friends. In the following spring he published a frame of 
government to be submitted to the freemen in Pennsylvania. 

Penn desired to possess the shores of the Delaware to the 
ocean, to increase the commercial prosperity of his colony. 
The "Territories" or " Three Lower Counties," now form- 
ing the State of Delaware, were in possession of the Duke of 
York, and esteemed a part of his province. His claim also 
extended further up the river. To prevent all difficulty, 
Penn obtained from him a release of his claim on Pennsylvania, 
and after much negotiation, purchased the *' Three Lower 
Counties." 

1682 Having completed his arrangements, and taken leave of his 
family, Penn embarked for America, and after a long pass- 
age, arrived at Newcastle, in the fall of 1682. The Society 
of Friends, to which he belonged, watched his departure with 
anxiety ; for they felt the responsibility of his situation, as the 
founder of a government, on principles differing in many re- 
spects from any in previous existence. 

This remarkable man had renounced prospects of worldly 
preferment which were open to him through the influence of 
his father and the favor of Charles II. His mind had become 



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 163 

Penn arrives at Newcastle. Freedom of conscience established. 

dissatisfied with the delusive pleasures of a vain world, and 
he sought enduring peace in religion, as embraced by the So- 
ciety of Friends. This he was permitted to find, though per- 
secuted, imprisoned for conscience' sake, and scorned by his 
former associates and friends. His father closed his doors 
against him, but finally relented, and on his death-bed en- 
couraged his son to faithfulness in the cause he had espoused. 

On arriving at Newcastle, Penn was warmly received by 1682 
the Swedes, Dutch and English, and the agent of the Duke 
of York formally surrendered the territory. From Newcastle, 
Penn ascended the Delaware to Upland, now called Chester, 
where he was also well received. An assembly of the people 
was summoned to meet in a few weeks. During the interim, 
Penn visited West and East New Jersey, New York and 
Long Island. Returning to Chester, the work of legislation 
occupied three days. The charter from the king did not in- 
clude the "Three Lower Counties;" these were now an- 
nexed to the province with equal privileges. Freedom of 
conscience was established, with the same liberties to settlers 
from whatever country. The statute ran thus : '* All per- 
sons living in this province, who confess and acknowledge the 
one Almighty and eternal God to be the Creator, upholder 
and Ruler of the world, and that hold themselves obliged to 
live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall in no way be 
molested or prejudiced for their religious persuasion, or prac- 
tice in matters of faith or worship." The principle adopted 
by Penn was, that every person has an inherent right to yfoi- 
ship God according to the dictates of his conscience. 

The first day of the week was to be observed as a day of 
rest from worldly occupations ; oaths were not required, stage 
plays, bull fights and some other similar amusements were pro- 



164 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Lord Baltimore. Meeting with the Indians. 

1682 hibited, and industry was encouraged ; murder only was pun- 
ishable by death. The prisons for convicts were to be work- 
houses, where offenders might be reclaimed by judicious treat- 
ment and instruction. Poor rates and tithes were abolished. 

The assembly having adjourned, Penn visited Lord Bal- 
timore, to settle the limits of their respective provinces. The 
grant to Lord Baltimore had embraced only territory not pre- 
viously occupied, yet he claimed the whole country as far 
north as the fortieth degree of latitude. The banks of the 
Delaware had been previously colonized by the Dutch, who 
had always resisted his claim. Penn could not give up the 
right to Delaware Bay, to which he knew himself entitled ; 
and after three days' discussion, the subject was left for arbi- 
tration in England, where it was decided that the tract of 
Delaware was not included in Maryland. The proper boun- 
daries remained to be settled by compromise. 

The next step of the proprietary was to make a treaty of 
peace and friendship with the Indians. At Shackamaxon, 
just north of Philadelphia, he met a large company of the 
Lenni Lenape tribes, and there, under the spreading 
branches of a large elm tree, he proclaimed to the sons 
of the forest, the terms on which he proposed they should 
live together, telling them that as it was not their custom to 
use hostile weapons against their fellow creatures, he and his 
friends had come unarmed. He remarked that the Grreat 
Spirit, who created him and them, who ruled the heavens 
and the earth, knew that he had a hearty desire to live 
in peace and friendship with them, and all should be open- 
ness, brotherhood and love. Every difference should be 
adjusted by a peaceful tribunal, composed of an equal num- 
ber of men from both parties. " I will not call you children, 



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 165 

Treaty of friendship. 

for parents sometimes chide their children too severely ; nor 1682 
brothers only, for brothers differ. The friendship between 
me and you, I will not compare to a chain, for that the rains 
might rust, or the falling tree might break. We are the 
same as if one man's body were to be divided into two 
parts; we are all one flesh and blood." 

This doctrine of love affected the hearts of the natives. 
They received presents from Penn, and gave him the belt of 
wampum, promising to live *' in love with William Penn and 
his children as long as the moon and the sun shall endure." 

This treaty was executed without the formality of an oath, 
and was sacredly kept by both parties. The colony of Friends 
lived in perfect peace with the natives ; while the history of 
the other colonies is darkened with accounts of Indian hostil- 
ities and massacres. One instance occurred in the colony, of 
a white man killed by an Indian. It was at a trading station, 
where ardent spirits had been the exciting cause of a quarrel. 
The government endeavored to prevent the repetition of such 
scenes, by prohibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors to the 
natives. 

Regarding the Indians as the true owners of the soil, Wil- 
liam Penn purchased from them their lands, giving in ex- 
change such valuable commodities as would be useful to them ; 
and the name of Onas, which they had given him, was long 
held in reverence among them. This benevolent man contin- 
ued to feel the interest and concern for the souls of the na- 
tives, which had been evinced by the members of the Society of 
Friends, from the time of their first acquaintance with them, 
and labored for their spiritual improvement. He also fre- 
quently visited them in a social way, partaking of their sim- 
ple repasts, and in his conferences with them, endeavored to 



166 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Philadelphia founded. Advances rapidly. 

1683 imbue their minds with a sense of the benefits of Chris- 
tianity.* 

Early in 1683, the site for a city was selected, to which 
Penn gave the name of Philadelphia ; and the place was laid 
out on which it should be built. Houses multiplied rapidly. 
In the spring, a representative assembly was held, and the 
frame of government, which he had prepared in England for 
the colony, was adopted. It was gratefully received, as con- 
ferring more liberty than was expected. A revenue was 
oJBfered to the governor to arise from the export of tobacco, 
and was declined. The government of Pennsylvania remains 
to the present time substantially the same. 

The early settlers of Pennsylvania had not the New Eng- 
land superstition to contend with. The only case of a per- 
son brought to trial on a charge of witchcraft, was so judi- 
ciously treated, that, to use the words of Bancroft, " In Penn's 
domain, from that day to this, neither demon nor hag ever 
rode through the air on goat or broomstick." 

The progress of the province was rapid, and settlements 
were early formed along the banks of the Delaware. The 
emigrants were mostly Friends from Great Britain and Ire- 
land, or from Germany and Holland. Two years after the 
commencement of Philadelphia, it contained six hundred 
houses. Germantown was settled in 1682. 

The business of the governor now required his presence in 
England. The government of the province having been 
duly organized, and peace with the natives established by 
treaties of friendship with no less than nineteen district tribes, 

* The Society of Friends had early been much interested in the pro- 
motion of the Avelfare of the Indians, both spiritual and temporal. 
Ministers of the Society travelled in gospel love, preaching the word 
of life among them, as early as 1659. 



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 167 

Penn returns to England. Slavery. 

Penn sailed for England in the summer of 1684, after hav- xg84 
ing entrusted the executive power to commissioners. 

Previously to his departure, the second assembly was held 
in Philadelphia, in which the frame of government was some- 
what altered, and regulations were made, tending to promote 
general prosperity. 

The influence of Friends in the assembly began gradu- 
ally to diminish. The governor, almost from the commence- 
ment, had found great difficulty in persuading " thorough 
bred Quakers" to take an active part in the administration 
of public affairs. " Having turned their backs upon the 
honors of the world," they withdrew from the assembly, until 
it became composed, in a great measure, of those who had no 
connection with the Society. Penn could never, but in one 
instance, prevail on such a member of the Society as he could 
approve, to fill the executive chair, and this was only for a 
limited time. 

The proprietary had retained for himself the exclusive priv- 
ilege of purchasing the soil from the Indians, and reserved 
quitrents on land which he sold. This gave rise to consider- 
able dissatisfaction, and for a long time the assembly were en- 
deavoring to compel an appropriation of the revenue arising 
from this source, or at least a part of it, to the public 
service. 

Pennsylvania, though founded by Friends, was at one time 
a slave State. That religious Society early became awakened 
to the sinfulness of slavery, and prohibited its members 
first from purchasing slaves, and finally from holding them. 
In this province the slaves were kindly treated, and the laws 
prove a desire to protect them from outrage and violence. 

At the time of the colonization of this country, the rights 
of the laboring classes were little understood or respected ; 



168 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Education. Penn's trials in England. 

and the condition of the slave so nearly resembled in some 
respects that of the laborer in Europe, that the eyes of many 
benevolent persons were blinded for a while to the evils of 
slavery. They did not at once perceive the iniquity of the 
system which lowers man from the position in which his Cre- 
ator placed him, to a level with the beasts that perish, where 
every right may be violated under the sanction of law, and 
which, in its essential nature, far exceeds in injustice the 
cruelty of the lash or overtasking. 

As early as 1683, when the colonists were scarcely com- 
fortably settled in their new homes, the subject of education 
engaged their attention, and a school was established. In 
1689, a public school was chartered by William Penn, with 
the motto, " Good instruction is better than riches." In this 
institution, the poor were taught gratuitously ; others paid for 
the instruction of their children. 

Penn's attachment to the royal family of the Stuarts ren- 
dered him an object of suspicion after the Revolution, and of 
much persecution, though nothing could be proved against 
him. Three times during the space of the two years imme- 
diately following the accession of William and Mary, he was 
arrested and brought before court, and as often openly liber- 
ated. The king took the government of the colony into his 
own hands. In 1690, Penn was preparing to embark for 
America, when he was again apprehended. After this he 
went into retirement, waiting until justice should be done 
him. At length it became apparent to the king, that the 
attachment of Penn to the Stuarts was not connected with 
any treasonable design ; his province was restored to him in 
1694, but the pressure of poverty, the result of his disinter- 
ested labors, now delayed his return, and William Markham 
was appointed deputy governor. 



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 169 



Penn in the colony. New Constitution. Death of Penn. 

In 1699, the governor was again in Pennsylvania design- 1699 
ing to spend the remainder of his days, and to give a home 
to his family in the land of his adoption. 

The members of the assembly, desirous of establishing 
political liberties, which the recent changes had threatened to 
efiace, proposed a new constitution. Penn readily conceded 
many privileges. The right of originating laws, heretofore 
belonging to the governor, was now vested in the assembly, 
subject to his approval. The executive power was confided 
to the governor. A purely democratic government was 
formed, but Penn remained its feudal sovereign ; his resig- 
nation would have made the colony again a royal province. 
The three Lower Counties refused to accept the new consti- 1703 
tution, and from that time forward became separated from 
Pennsylvania under the name of Delaware. 

On information being received that the English parliament 
were about to annul every colonial charter, Penn returned to 
England to defend the rights of himself and his province. 
Here he was harassed by complaints against the deputy 
governor. These discontents Penn wisely and judiciously 
endeavored to soothe ; and that the causes of dissatisfaction 
were but slight, the unparalleled prosperity of the colony 
abundantly proves. Population and wealth increased. There 
were no forts, no armed police, no militia, '* no established 
church," and " a harbor opened for the reception of all man- 
kind." Penn after this did not revisit America, and a series 
of apoplectic fits terminated his life, a large proportion of 1718 
which had been devoted to the good of his fellow creatures. 

The third newspaper published in America was com- 
menced at Philadelphia in 1719 ; the first two being in 
Boston. Soon afterward Benjamin Franklin became the pro- 
prietor and editor of another periodical, in which he advo- 

15 



170 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Peace with the natives broken. Indian war. 

cated " absolute freedom of thought and speech." He after- 
ward, in 1752, performed the world-renowned experiment of 
drawing electricity from the clouds, by means of a kite, and 
hence established the fact, that lightning is electricity, and 
thunder but the noise caused by its rapid flight. 

The upright conduct of William Penn, and of those who 
immediately succeeded him in the administration of the gov- 
ernment, in their intercourse with the Indians, was the means 
of preserving peace with the native tribes ; so that for seventy 
years the growth of the colony was not retarded by Indian 
wars, but uninterrupted harmony existed between them and 
the whites. 
1756 When at last the Friends ceased to control the government, 
and an Indian war broke out in 1756, "the poor Indians 
throughout their troubles, habitually recurred to Friends for 
counsel and aid." The members of this Society were not 
prevented by the war from travelling among them, but went 
freely, " preaching the Word," visiting stations upwards of 
one hundred miles beyond the Ohio. They continued to 
watch over the interests of the Indians ; some of them were 
frequently present when treaties were made with them. In 
1793, in consequence of earnest solicitations from several In- 
dian tribes, expressed by Indian messengers, and by a letter, 
a number of Friends undertook a journey of great exposure 
to Sandusky, where it was contemplated forming a treaty. 
This object was not effected, yet the opportunity of mingling 
with the natives tended to renew friendship for them. 

The same year two Friends visited the Delawares, and 
received from them renewed assurances of gratitude. ' ' Broth- 
ers," said they, " we are glad, and rejoice in our hearts to see 
our brothers, the Quakers, speaking before us." " We wish 
to be of the same religion:" *• We hope you will have pity 



PENNSYLVANIA AND DELAWARE. 171 

Proprietary government discontinued. 

on US, and instruct us how we may come to obtain everlast- 
ing happiness." 

The proprietary government was continued until near the 
commencement of the Revolution, when a new constitution 
was adopted by the people, which excluded the proprietary 
from ail share in the government. The sum of five hundred 
and seventy thousand dollars was accepted in discharge of all 
quitrents due from the inhabitants. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

GEORGIA. 



Charter granted. Oglethorpe embarks. 

The last settled of the original thirteen colonies was 
Georgia. The Spaniards continued to regard with a jealous 
eye the spreading of the British colonies toward the Savan- 
nah river. They claimed as their territory the country as far 
north as St. Helena Sound, and had dispersed the Scottish 
settlers on the Island of Port Royal. 

But England now resolved to extend her settlements still 
farther south. The sympathies of James Oglethorpe, a 
member of Parliament, and a man of benevolent feelings, 
had been enlisted, on account of the large number of debtors 
confined in the prisons of England, as well as with the poor, 
who for petty thefts were immured there, perhaps for life. 
For this class of British subjects, and for all Protestants who 
were denied the free exercise of their religion at home, he 
planned an asylum in America. 
1732 111 1732, a charter was granted by George II, constituting 
the province of Georgia, to comprise the territory between the 
Savannah and the Altamaha rivers, and extending due west 
from their sources to the Pacific Ocean. The province was 
placed for twenty-one years under the control of the corpora- 
tion, Oglethorpe being the most prominent member. Parlia- 
ment contributed ten thousand pounds. 

In the fall of the same year Oglethorpe embarked with one 
hundred and twenty emigrants. Arriving off Charleston, 



GEORGIA. 17^ 



Treaty with the Indians. 



they did not remain there, but proceeded to Port Koyal, and 
after examining the country selected a bluff on the Savannah 
river for their infant settlement, the town of Savannah. 

One of the first subjects which claimed the attention 1733 
of Oglethorpe, was the establishment of a treaty with the 
Indians. In the immediate neighborhood dwelt the Yama- 
craws, a branch of the Creeks. A delegation from them met 
the English, and after an interchange of presents, and mutu- 
al promises of love and good-will, it was agreed that Ogle- 
thorpe should be allowed to purchase as much land as was 
required for the use of the colony. Tomo-chichi, the chief, 
addressed him as he offered a buffalo skin, with the head and 
feathers of an eagle painted on the inside. " Here is a little 
present. The feathers of the eagle are soft, and signify love ; 
the buffalo skin is warm, and is the emblem of protection. 
Therefore love and protect our little families." 

Soon afterward a treaty with the Creeks was signed, 
which gave the English the control of the land as far south as 
the river St. Johns. Friendly relations were also established 
with the Cherokees and Choctaws, and a trade with them was 
commenced. Meantime favorable offers being made to the 
persecuted Moravians of Germany, a large number of them 
prepared to emigrate, and early in 1734 set sail for their new 1734 
homes. Oglethorpe accompanied them in the selection of a 
suitable place for their settlement, and on the Savannah 
river they commenced a village which they called Ebenezer. 

The wisdom and prudence of Oglethorpe were the means 
of the rapid advancement of the colony. The governor of 
South Carolina said of him, "He nobly devotes all his 
powers to serve the poor." After spending about fifteen 
months in the colony, Oglethorpe returned to England, 
taking with him Tomo-chichi and his queen, with several 

15* 



174 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

"Wesley and Whitefield in America. Slavery prohibited. 

other Indians. They received much attention at court, and 
after a visit of about four months, returned to their native 
country, where it is probable that their influence contributed 
to the good understanding which continued to prevail between 
the colonists and the native tribes. The town of Augusta 
was one of the oldest in the province. 

In 1735, a company of mountaineers from the Highlands 
of Scotland established Darien. The following year, Ogle- 
thorpe again arrived in the colony, with about three hundred 
1736 emigrants. They were accompanied by John Wesley, the 
founder of the Society of Methodists, who, after remaining 
nearly two years, engaged in preaching to the colonists and 
Indians, returned to England. Soon afterward the cele- 
brated Greorge Whitefield arrived in the colony. He trav- 
elled over England and the colonies, soliciting subscriptions 
for the establishment and maintenance of an Orphan House 
at Savannah, which is still in existence. 

An early law of the colony forbade the introduction of 
slaves, slavery being, in the opinion of Oglethorpe, ''against 
the gospel, as well as against the fundamental law of Eng- 
land." It was also said that as the colony was an asylum for 
the distressed, it was necessary to prohibit slavery, "for slaves 
starve the poor laborer ; " and in 1738, when the request 
was made for the use of slave labor, Oglethorpe rejected it, 
declaring that if negroes should be introduced, he would have 
nothing further to do with the province. 

The Moravians demonstrated that whites could labor in 
that southern clime, and sternly remonstrated against the 
introduction of slavery. The value of raw silk raised by 
them, soon amounted to ten thousand pounds a year. Indigo 
was a staple production. 

But Oglethorpe, with his many good qualities, was in favor 



GEORGIA. 175 



Contentions with the Spanish colonies. Slavery introduced. 

of the law of force, and was willing to settle the rights of 
property by the destruction of human life. Forts were built 
in various places for the protection of the colony, and the 
boundaries of Georgia not being settled, he resolved to sus- 
tain the claims of the English to the territory as far south as 
the St. Johns. In the dissensions which ensued during the 
war between England and Spain, the English were indebted 
to their friendship with the Indians for the preservation 
of their settlements, and the St. Mary's river became the 
boundary of the colony of Greorgia. 

In 1740^ St. Augustine was besieged by Oglethorpe, who 
was soon obliged to withdraw without effecting his object; 
and in 1742, the Spaniards in retaliation sent a large land 
and naval force to break up the settlements in Georgia. The 
number of Oglethorpe's men was much smaller than the 1742 
Spanish force. By an ingenious stratagem, he succeeded in 
discouraging and alarming the Spaniards, so far that they 
entirely withdrew from the English territory. After one year 
of tranquillity, Oglethorpe returned to England, and never 
revisited Georgia. 

After the connection of Oglethorpe with the colony had 
ceased, slavery was soon introduced; even the Moravians 
began to think that slaves " might be employed in a Chris- 
tian spirit." 

In 1752 the charter was surrendered to the king, and 
Georgia became a royal colony. 



CHAPTER XVIIL 

THE FRENCH WAR, AND SOME OF THE CAUSES WHICH 
LED TO IT. 

Efforts to secure the fur trade. 

The settlement of the north-eastern boundaries between 
the English and French colonies, early became a subject 
of dispute. The coast from the Kennebec to Nova Scotia 
was claimed by the French ; and that part of the States of 
Vermont and New York, watered by rivers flowing into the 
St. Lawrence, was considered by them as a part of their 
possessions. They could claim the latter by right of discov- 
ery and prior occupation. The lake forming part of the 
boundary line between these two States, was entered from the 
1609 north, and named by Champlain, as early as 1609, the same 
year that Hudson explored the North river. 

Both parties were anxious to secure the fur trade. For 
this purpose a station was established by New York at Oswe- 
go, in 1722 ; and four years afterward, the French built 
Fort Niagara, with a view of having a settlement there. This, 
they thought, would give them the command of western New 
York, and exclude the English from the trade. They already 
had the jurisdiction of the north-west country, whence the 
furs were brought, and with the exception of Oswego, of the 
entire country watered by the St. Lawrence. 

France, through its colony in Canada, had been the first 
to enter the Mississippi from the sea. In 1698, a company 
from that province, with about two hundred settlers, succeed- 



THE FRENCH WAR. 177 

French settlers in the valley of the Mississippi. 

ed in finding the mouth of the river, which they ascended 
perhaps as far as the Red river, visited some Indians, and 
returned. On the Bay of Biloxi, within the present limits 
of the State of Mississippi, they erected a fort, which they 
considered the sign of French jurisdiction over the territory 
from near the Rio del Norte to the neighborhood of Pensa- 
cola. Alliances were made with the natives of that part of 
the country. A line of communication existed from Quebec 
to the Gulf of Mexico, and by means of French missionaries 
scattered along the route, more distant tribes were conciliated. 
The French had possessed Detroit as early as 1701, and still 
earlier had had military stations in Illinois. A Jesuit mis- 
sion was established at Kaskaskia, the oldest permanent Eu- 
ropean settlement in the valley of the Mississippi. Natchez 
was soon after settled. 

The French at Biloxi, in the midst of sands, were soon 
dependent on the Indians for provisions. Their number 
became reduced. In 1702, there were, within the limits of 
Louisiana, vyhich name the territory had received, perhaps 
about thirty families. The early settlers in this part of the 
country spent their time in roaming about in search of mines ; 
agriculture does not appear to have been their object. 

In 1717, eight hundred emigrants from France laid the 1717 
foundation of New Orleans. The unhealthfulness of the cli- 
mate and other causes swept away a large proportion of their 
number, so that at the expiration of three years there were but 
a few tents and cottages. 

Wars with the Indians were provoked by the French. 
The best land of the tribe of the Natchez was demanded for 
plantations. This the Indians could not bear. A war com- 
menced, in which the French, being joined by other Indian 
tribes, completely exterminated the Natchez^ about four 



178 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Indian wars. The French build Fort Du Quesne. 

1732 hundred of them being sent to Hispaniola, as slaves. Nor 
was this the only war. To maintain the connection of their 
posts, it was necessary to reduce the Indians located on the 
eastern side of the Mississippi ; and at this the French did 
not hesitate. But the Chickasas, assisted by other Indian 
tribes and by the English, were too powerful for them. 
The French were obliged to retreat, and the natives retained 
possession of the country. 
1735 The foundation of Vincennes is thought to have been laid 
as early as 1735. 

The extent of the claims of France on the west alarmed 
the English colonies ; and the Virginians aimed at extending 
their settlements far enough to interrupt the communication 
formed by the French, between Canada and the Gulf of Mex- 
ico. The charters to the English had embraced the territory 
extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and they could 
not consent to be thus circumscribed. 

At this time the number of inhabitants in the English 
colonies was upwards of 1,000,000 ; in the French, about 
52,000. The Five Nations were almost the only Indian 
allies of the English ; the French had established peace with 
the numerous tribes of the North and West. 

The French, in order to strengthen their position and con- 
fine the English to the territory east of the Alleghanies, con- 
ceived the design of erecting a chain of forts along the banks of 
the Ohio and Mississippi. In pursuance of this plan they built 
a fort at the confluence of the Alleghany and Monongahela 
rivers, which they called Du Quesne, in honor of the governor 
of Canada. 

In the mean time a company of English traders had estab- 
lished stations on the Ohio river in the vicinity of Fort 
Du Quesne. The governor of Canada regarding this step 



THE FRENCH WAR. 179 



English traders imprisoned. George Washington. 

as an encroachment on the territory of the French, ex- 
postulated with the governors of New York and Pennsylvania, 
and threatened to seize the traders if they did not withdraw. 
No attention being paid to this requisition, some of them were 
carried prisoners to Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, one of the 
posts of the French, where they were engaged in constructing 
another fort. 

The trading stations being within the limits of the colony 
of Virginia, complaints were made to Governor Dinwiddle of 
that province, who, after laying the subject before the assem- 
bly, determined to send an envoy to the French commander 
on the Ohio, demanding of him a reason for these hostile pro- 
ceedings, and requesting him to withdraw his troops from a 
fort recently erected in that neighborhood. 

For this arduous and dangerous undertaking, George 
Washington, at that time about twenty-one years of age, offered 
his services. The distance was above four hundred miles, and 
much of the route was through a wilderness inhabited by 
hostile Indians. The difficulties of the journey were such 
that it occupied about six weeks, and was performed partly on 1753 
horseback and partly on foot, with a single companion. The 
communication was delivered to the French commander, who, 
after several days, returned for answer, that he acted under 
the direction of his general, then in Canada, and that he was 
responsible only to him. This reply was conveyed to the 
governor of Virginia by Washington and his companion, after 
a fatiguing and perilous journey. They were once fired upon 
by an Indian in concealment, but not injured. 

This embassy was the means of introducing George Wash- 
ington as an actor in the history of our country. He was 
b(jrn at Mount Vernon, in Virginia, on the 22d of Second 
month, (Feb.,) 1732. His father, Augustine Washington, 



180 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Rencounter of the French and English. 

was a planter of distinguished integrity, descended from a 
family in Cheshire, England. By the decease of his two elder 
brothers, George Washington inherited the patrimonial estate 
of Mount Vernon. 
1754 The answer of the French commander induced the governor 
of Virginia to take forcible means of expelling the French from 
the disputed territory. A regiment was raised, of which 
Washington, on the death of the first in command, was ap- 
pointed colonel. On the way toward Fort Du Quesne, he 
surprised and defeated a party of French and Indians who 
were advancing toward the English settlements. Ap- 
proaching the fort, a large body of French and Indians 
marched out to attack him. Washington hastily erected some 
fortifications, in the hope of prolonging his defence until the 
arrival of reinforcements. After a contest of nine hours, in 
which the Americans killed two hundred of their opponents, 
terms of capitulation were agreed on. The French consented 
to retire to Fort Du Quesne, the English were allowed to re- 
turn with their arms and luggage to Virginia. 

The British government now perceived that their occupancy 
of the territory on the Ohio must either be relinquished or 
maintained by the sword. Preparations were immediately 
made in England for active warfare, and the Secretary of 
State wrote to the governors of the different provinces, recom- 
mending united action, and urging them to secure the friend- 
ship of the Five Nations. He also directed them to repel the 
French by force, and, if possible, to drive them from their posts 
on the Ohio. 

In the summer, a convention of delegates met at Albany. 
A treaty with the Five Nations was effected ; after which a 
plan of union was proposed. It provided for a general assem- 
bly of delegates from all the colonies, to be chosen by the 



THE FRENCH WAR. 181 



Plan of warfare. 



representatives of the people; and that a president-general 
should be appointed by the crown, who was to have the power 
of placing a negative on the proceedings of the delegates. 
The plan was not acceptable to the colonists, because it gave 
too much power to the king ; the English government disap- 
proved of it on the ground of its throwing too much power into 
the handsof the representatives of the people, whose increasing 
influence they already began to fear. It was therefore not 
adopted. Another was suggested by the British government, 
but not being accepted by the colonists, it was determined to 
carry on the war by British troops, aided by such reinforce- 
ments as could be raised in the colonies. 

Early in 1755, Greneral Braddock was sent to America, 1755 
with a considerable force, to protect the frontier. The 
governors of the several provinces were convened to make 
arrangements for the campaign. It was decided to make 
three expeditions ; one against Fort Du Quesne, to be com- 
manded by Braddock, aided by provincial militia to be raised 
in Maryland and Virginia ; another against Forts Niagara 
and Frontignac, the latter situated on the Canada side of the 
St. Lawrence, near Lake Ontario ; and a third against Crown 
Point. 

Preparations for the attack on Fort Du Quesne proceeded 
slowly. In a new country, horses, wagons and provisions 
in suflBcient quantities were not readily obtained ; and Brad- 
dock, impatient of delay, having proceeded to Fort Cumber- 
land, in the western part of Virginia, resolved to march to 
Fort Du Quesne with twelve hundred men ; the remainder 
were to follow as soon as arrangements could be made. 
Braddock had also learned that the French at the fort were 
expecting a reinforcement of five hundred men. Before he 
left England, he bad been repeatedly warned to guard against 

16 



182 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Defeat of Braddock. 

1755 surprises, and now Washington and other American officers 
advised him to send forward the provincial troops to scour 
the woods in search of ambuscades. But Braddock, who had 
been educated in the science of war as taught in Europe, 
and confident in his own skill, disdained the advice of the 
provincial officers, and could not be persuaded of the inappli- 
cability of his system to the wilds of America. 

As they approached the fort, Washington made a 'last at- 
tempt to induce him to change his plan. He explained the 
Indian mode of warfare, and offered to place himself in ad- 
vance of the army, with the provincials under his command. 
The offer was declined, and Washington and his soldiers were 
ordered to form in the rear of the British troops. 

When within a few miles of the fort, and passing a defile 
through which their route led, a sudden discharge of fire-arms 
burst upon them from an invisible foe, accompanied by a tremen- 
dous yell. Confusion immediately followed ; the general, how- 
ever, succeeded in restoring order for a short time, and a tempo- 
rary cessation of fire induced the belief that the danger was 
over. The attack was soon renewed, and from behind rocks, 
trees and logs, a deadly fire was poured upon them. Confusion 
spread among the British troops. In attempting to restore 
order, Braddock received a mortal wound, and in a short time 
most of the officers had fallen. Being mounted on horses, 
they were easily selected and shot by the Indians. Washing- 
ton had two horses killed under him, and four bullets passed 
through his coat, but he remained unhurt. The battle lasted 
nearly three hours. Upwards of seven hundred of the private 
soldiers were killed ; of eighty-five officers, sixty-four were 
either killed or wounded. 

The English troops now fled precipitately ; the provincials, 
being rallied by Washington, retreated under his command. 



THE FRENCH WAR. 183 



Retreat from Fort Du Quesne. Unsuccessful expeditions. 



Sixty miles from the scene of action they came up with the 1755 
division of the army which had remained behind, and although 
no enemy had been seen at all, either during the engagement 
or afterward, the troops hurried to Fort Cumberland. Re- 
maining there a short time, the remnant of the army, having 
destroyed the greater part of their stores, retreated to Phila- 
delphia, leaving the entire frontier open to the incursions of 
the Indians, who, having complete ascendency, the settle- 
ments were broken up, and the inhabitants who were not 
murdered or carried into captivity, escaped to the seaboard. 

The two northern expeditions, though less disastrous than 
that against Fort Du Quesne, were both unsuccessful, and the 
three campaigns produced nothing but suflfering and death, 
expense and disappointment. 

The expedition against Niagara was delayed by heavy rains 
and other causes, until the season became too far advanced to 
proceed. Some of the troops remained in Oswego ; the others 
retired to Albany. The force to be directed against Crown 
Point, was also delayed until the latter part of summer, when 
the two hostile parties met on the march of the colonial troops 
to Crown Point. The Americans were at first obliged to 
retire. The French pursued, but were soon after put to flight. 
The loss of the latter, in killed and wounded, was estimated at 
one thousand men ; that of the former, one hundred and thirty. 
The object of the expedition, the taking of Crown Point, was 
not effected. 

During the occurrence of these events, Massachusetts had 
projected an invasion of Nova Scotia. Although the posses- 
sion of that province had been confirmed to the English by 
the treaty of Utrecht, yet much jealousy was felt of the Aca- 
dians or French inhabitants, who had secured the friendship 
of the Indians, and maintained neutrality in the differences 



184 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Gruel treatment of the Acadians. 

1755 between the French and English colonies. They had offered no 
resistance to the new government, but had refused to take the 
oath of allegiance to the English sovereign, which might oblige 
them to take up arms against their native country. They 
were an agricultural people, living in much comfort and hap- 
piness. The unsuccessful movements of the English armies 
increased the fear that they would unite with their fellow 
countrymen in Canada, to restore the province to the dominion 
of the French. In the early part of the year, a large force, 
raised in the New England colonies, had reduced the ports still 
in the hands of the French, notwithstanding war between 
France and England had not yet been declared. The sur- 
render was made on the condition that the inhabitants were 
to be left unmolested. The Acadians generally took no part 
in the military movement, but surrendered their arms, and 
complied with all the requisitions of the commander, except 
that of taking the oath of allegiance. They were, however, 
treated with great severity ; their property was confiscated, 
orders were given to the troops to occupy their villages, con- 
vert their places of worship into barracks, and to remove them 
from their homes and disperse them through the English colo- 
nies. Vessels had been provided to convey these once happy 
people into perpetual exile, and those who should escape were 
to be deprived of all means of shelter and support by the burn- 
ing of their houses, and the destruction of any thing that 
might afford them the means of subsistence. The ships were 
scantily furnished with provisions, and no comforts were pro- 
vided for the sick and aged ; and in the hurry of embarkation 
families were separated, and in some instances, fruitless search 
for one another was made for the remainder of their lives. 
The amount of misery caused by these unjustifiable measures 
cannot be estimated. A few of the inhabitants found a refuge 



THE FKENCH WAR. 185 



War declared. 



from the persecution of professing Christians, among the In- 
dians ; some others escaped to Canada, while many died from 
fatigue, exposure and starvation. Upwards of fifteen hundred 
were conveyed as prisoners, from the comforts of life, to suffer 
poverty and exile among a people of another religion and 
another language. 

Notwithstanding the hostile proceedings of the French 
and English colonies, intercourse between the two countries in 
Europe had remained uninterrupted, and war was not de- 
cFared until the following spring. In a council of war held 
early in the season, it was resolved again to attempt the re- 1756 
duction of Crown Point and of Forts Du Quesne and Niagara ; 
and for this purpose to raise an army of 19,000 men. 
During the delay occasioned by the collecting of so large body, 
the French and Indians besieged Oswego ; the garrison was 
soon compelled to surrender, and the fortress was destroyed. 
This measure disconcerted the plans of the English ; an 
invasion was expected, and attention was now turned to secu- 
rity against further losses. The small-pox also broke out in 
Albany, so that it was found necessary to discharge most of 
the provincial troops. Thus ended another season of excite- 
ment and expense. 

The colonists were not sufiiciently discouraged by the 1757 
results of the war thus far, to prevent them from making ac- 
tive preparations for the campaign of this year. The losses 
were attributed to mismanagement on the part of the English 
ofl&cers, and to the orders of the British ministry, to remove 
the provincial officers from the command. It was designed 
this year to concentrate the forces against Louisburg, on Cape 
Breton Island. A large army accordingly sailed from New 
York, and was joined at Halifax by a reinforcement from Eng- 
land ; but learning that a large land and naval force had been 



186 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Attack of Fort AVilliam Henry. Surrender. 

1757 sent out from France, and the strength of the fortifications 
being well known to the Americans, the proposed attack was 
abandoned, and the British Admiral returned to New York. 

The French commander had determined to gain entire pos- 
session of Lake George. Collecting a large force he attacked 
Fort William Henry, situated at the south end of the lake. 
Although at first driven back, the attack was renewed ; assist- 
ance expected by the English was most unaccountably delayed, 
and after six days, the commander capitulated to the French, 
with the stipulation that the prisoners should be protected 
from the savages, and that the sick and wounded should be 
treated with humanity. This provision appeared to be entirely 
disregarded. The troops were left exposed to the attacks of 
the Indians, and a scene of horror ensued. The groans of the 
dying, the shrieks of others at the uplifted tomahawk, from 
which there was no escape, were mingled with the yells of the 
savages ; nor did the work cease until fifteen hundred had 
been slaughtered, or carried into captivity. 

The French were now in possession of the lakes, and it was 
justly apprehended that they would make good their claim to 
the whole valley of the Mississippi, thus fulfilling their design 
of confining the English settlements to the borders of the 
Atlantic. The British nation became alarmed ; the king de- 
cided to change the ministry, and placed William Pitt at the 
head of the new administration. Pitt had risen to distinction 
by his talents, and was popular both in England and America. 
Possessing the confidence of both countries, his energy and 
decision, with his promise that past losses and disappointments 
should be repaired, were the means of once more encour- 
aging the colonists, so that his requisitions were promptly com- 
plied with. 

Accordingly in the summer, General Abercrombie, who 



THE FRENCH WAR. 187 



Expeditions against Louisburg and Ticonderoga. 



had been appointed commander-in-chief of the British forces 1758 
in America, was at the head of an army of fifty thousand men ; 
of these, twenty thousand were provincials. The British fleets 
had also blocked up in the French ports, or captured at sea, 
the men and stores designed for Canada. Three expeditions 
were again undertaken, against Louisburg, Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point, and against Fort Du Quesne. In the siege of 
Louisburg, fourteen thousand men, twenty ships of the line, 
and eighteen frigates, were engaged for nearly two months, 
when the fortress was surrendered. 

The attack of Ticonderoga was unsuccessful. General 
Abercrombie, with sixteen thousand men, crossed Lake George 
in boats, and for four hours his men were attempting to scale 
the walls, exposed to a destructive fire from the fort. De- 
spairing of success, a retreat was ordered, after two thousand 
of the assailants had been killed or wounded. 

After this repulse and serious waste of human life, a 
detachment of the army was sent against Fort Frontignac, a 
French post on Lake Ontario, containing large quantities of 
merchandise, provisions and military stores. The fort fell 
into the hands of the English, and was destroyed. This loss 
was severely felt by the French ; the troops at Du Quesne 
suffered from the want of the provisions, while the Indians, not 
receiving their supplies, and terrified at the approach of an 
army of eight thousand men, began to desert in great numbers. 

The forces designed for the expedition against Du Quesne 
had left Philadelphia early in Seventh month, (July,) and 
after a fatiguing march through deep morasses, and over unex- 
plored mountains, arrived within ninety miles of the fort, 
whence a detachment of eight hundred men was sent forward 
to reconnoitre. These were met by a body of French and 
Indians, and nearly half of them were killed or wounded. 



188 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The British obtain possession of Fort Du Quesne. 

Not dismayed by this occurrence, the British army cautious- 
ly advanced, when the garrison at the fort, determining not to 
wait the event of a siege, escaped down the Ohio, and retired 
to their settlements on the Mississippi. Nearly five months 
after the army had left Philadelphia, the British flag was 
hoisted at Fort Du Quesne, and the place received the name 
of Pittsburg, in commemoration of William Pitt. Treaties 
with the Indians were then made, which gave security to the 
frontiers of the middle provinces. 

The following year was commemorated by very bold meas- 
1759 ures of the British ministry. The three strongest holds of 
the French were to be attacked — Quebec, Ticonderoga and 
Niagara. The forces directed against the two latter places, if 
successful, were afterward to join General Wolfe before 
Quebec. 

The forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point were deserted 
on the approach of the enemy. An unsuccessful attempt was 
then made by the British commander to gain possession of 
Lake Champlain; a series of storms, however, and the 
advanced season of the year, compelled him to go into winter 
quarters. 

Fort Niagara was closely besieged ; the English commander 
was soon killed, after which a battle took place in which the 
French were completely routed, and the British gained pos- 
session of the place. The garrison, consisting of six hundred 
and seven men, were carried prisoners to New York ; the 
women and children were sent to Montreal. 

Neither of the armies engaged in the reduction of the fore- 
going places, succeeded in joining General Wolfe ; his detach- 
ment alone proceeded to the strong fortress, Quebec, the 
Gibraltar of America. Every expedition against it had here- 
tofore failed ; and Montcalm, the officer now in command, was 



THE FRENCH WAR. 189 



Wolfe at Quebec. His death. Surrender of the city. Peace. 

of distinguished military reputation. Having landed his 1759 
army, consisting of eight thousand men, on an island in the 
St. Lawrence, a few miles below Quebec, Wolfe from this 
place surveyed the difl&culties to be encountered, but without 
being discouraged. 

Quebec stands on the north side of the river, and consists 
of an upper and lower town, divided by a bold and lofty emi- 
nence, running parallel with the river. After several unsuc- 
cessful attempts at different points, the whole army succeeded, 
at night, in ascending the Heights unobserved ; a battle thea 
ensued. The English fire was reserved until the French were 
within forty yards, when it was poured forth with great de- 
struction. In the engagement Wolfe received a mortal wound, 
as well as his successor in command ; the French general, 
Montcalm, was also killed. The French were driven from the 
field, and five days afterward the city surrendered. In the 
engagement, a very large* portion of the French army was de- 
stroyed ; the loss of the English was about six hundred. 

The following year Montreal and its dependencies were 1760 
taken, and Canada became a British province. 

A general treaty of peace, signed at Paris in 1763, and soon 17(53 
afterward ratified by the respective governments, confirmed 
to Great Britain the conquests she had made in the north. 
The division between the English and French possessions, was 
fixed by a line drawn through the middle of the river Missis- 
sippi, from its source to the river Iberville, which connects 
the Lakes Maurepas and Ponchartrain with the Mississippi, 
thence through that river and the lakes to the sea. This 
arrangement ceded to England all the territory east of the 
Mississippi, excepting New Orleans, with a small tract of coun- 
try around it. The French were allowed, under certain re- 
strictions, to fish off the Island of Newfoundland ; and Havana, 



190 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Remarks. 

which had been taken from Spain during the war, was re- 
turned by the British government, in exchange for East and 
West Florida. 

The war with France had raged nearly eight years, during 
which the energies of the nation being directed to the subju- 
gation of their enemies, involving the destruction of their 
fellow-men, those objects which tend to the prosperity and 
advancement of a country, were, as a necessary consequence^ 
neglected. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

DIFFICULTIES WITH THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. 
From 1764 to 1765. 
Enforcement of duties. 

At the close of the French war, gome account of which is 
given in the preceding chapter, the colonists were strongly 
attached to the mother country. But England found that 1764 
although she had added to the extent of her empire by the 
contests in which she had been engaged, she had augmented 
in proportion the burdens of her subjects. To pay the annual 
interest of the national debt, which had now been increased 
by three hundred and twenty millions of dollars, it became 
necessary to make some further provision. As the war had 
been undertaken on account of the colonies, it was alleged 
that some assistance ought now to be afforded by them. 

The right of Parliament to tax the colonies for the purpose 
of raising a revenue, had always been denied in America ; 
and although the duties which had been imposed on certain 
articles of trade, had never been openly resisted, yet the pay- 
ment of them had been evaded, and cases of smuggling be- 
came frequent. 

In the spring of 1764, a bill was carried through Parlia- 
ment, imposing additional duties on the trade of the colonies. 
These, in some instances, were so great as almost to amoun- 
to a prohibition of the trade ; and the regulations for collect- 
ing them were such as to prevent the smuggling, which had 
been to a great extent overlooked. All the naval officers 



192 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Stamp duties. 

on the American coasts were authorized to act as revenue 
officers, and the forfeitures were to be decided by the judges 
of the admiralty courts without the intervention of a jury. 

The news of these proceedings occasioned in the colonies 
open discontent, which was increased by the information that 
a resolution had also been passed by Parliament, declaring 
that it would be proper to lay other duties on the colonies, 
called stamp duties, by which all instruments of writing were 
to be executed on stamped paper, furnished by the British 
government at high prices ; or that they should not be bind- 
ing. This would be a very heavy tax on almost every busi- 
ness transaction. Not only for law documents and leases, 
but for all contracts, bills of sale, notes of hand, newspapers 
and pamphlets, must this stamped paper be used, should the 
act become a law. 

Petitions to the king, and memorials to Parliament against 
the proposed measure, were sent from several of the assem- 
blies. In these papers, clear and powerful arguments were 
brought forward to prove that Great Britian had not the right 
to lay a tax in the colonies. It was stated that charters had 
been given to the emigrants, securing to them and their de- 
scendants all the rights of English subjects ; that of these 
rights, none was more clear, or more highly valued, than that 
no person could be deprived of his property by any body, 
where his will could not be expressed, either in person, or 
by his representative. How dangerous to the colonists would 
it be to entrust the right of taxing them to a body of men, 
three thousand miles distant, who could not be acquainted 
with their situation or resources, and whose interests would be 
different from their own. It was also urged that the domes- 
tic governments in America, were supported entirely by the 
colonists, and that in proportion to their means, their expenses 
were greater than those of the people of England. 



DIFFICULTIES WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 193 

Stamp Act. Opposition to it. 

Notwithstanding these remonstrances, the Stamp Act bill 1765 
was introduced into Parliament, and although there was a 
strong opposition from the minority, it passed into a law in 
the spring of 1765. As some compensation to the colonies 
for the stamp duties, provision was made for allowing the 
exportation of American lumber into all the ports of Europe. 
The passage of this bill excited serious alarm among the col- 
onists. They saw that they must either give up their claims 
to civil liberty, or resist the execution of the law, and procure 
its repeal. In the legislature of Virginia, resolutions were 
introduced by the distinguished orator, Patrick Henry, ex- 
pressing the various rights and privileges claimed by the col- 
onists, and unequivocally denying the right of Parliament to 
tax America. These resolutions, which he eloquently and 
ably defended, were passed by a majority of one, and were 
industriously yet cautiously circulated throughout the colonies, 
until, arriving in New England, they were fearlessly published 
in the newspapers. 

The general court of Massachusetts had already adopted 
measures for a combined opposition to the obnoxious laws. 
They proposed that a congress of delegates from all the col- 
onies should assemble at New York, and solicited the concur- 
rence of the other assemblies. 

The country soon became divided into two great parties, 
Whigs and Tories. The Whigs were advocates for popular 
freedom ; the Tories were upholders of parliamentary author- 
ity. The former were active in vindicating the rights of the 
colonies, pamphlets were published, and from the public jour- 
nals frequent and copious articles were issued, encouraging 
resistance to the acts which threatened the cause of liberty. 
Associations were formed to resist the execution of the law. 

In Boston, the excitement became so great, that a build- 

17 



194 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Appeal to the king. 

1765 ing, supposed to have been erected for the office of the stamp 
distributer, was destroyed by a mob, his image was burned in 
effigy and he was compelled to resign. Other acts of violence 
were also performed ; all who had been appointed agents in 
the execution of the law, were objects of jealousy. In some 
of the other colonies, disturbances were prevented by the resig- 
nation of the stamp-distributers ; in New York, the boxes 
containing the stamped paper were seized by the people and 
publicly burned. 

In Tenth month, (Oct.,) the congress of delegates assem- 
bled at New York, nine provinces being represented. Their 
first measure was a declaration of the rights of the colonists. 
In this document, and in addresses to the king and to Parlia- 
ment, while they expressed attachment to the government of 
the mother country, they urged the injustice of being taxed, 
and at the same time unrepresented, and maintained that the 
advantage derived by Great Britian from a monopoly of their 
commerce, was a sufficient contribution for the colonies 
toward her treasury. The congress recommended to the 
different provinces to appoint special agents to represent 
them in England, and endeavor to procure a redress of griev- 
ances ; and adjourned, after having made arrangements for 
transmitting a copy of their proceedings to each of the col- 
onies. 

The merchants of New York directed their correspondents 
in England to purchase no more goods until the stamp act 
should be repealed. Similar measures were adopted in the 
other colonies. Instead of depending upon the usual sup- 
plies from England, associations were formed for the encour- 
agement of domestic manufactures ; and the most wealthy 
inhabitants clothed themselves in homespun goods. To avoid 
using the stamps, proceedings in the courts of justice were 



DIFFICULTIES WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 195 

R«peal of the Stamp Act. 

suspended, and differences were settled by arbitration ; vessels 
were permitted to depart as before, printers circulated their 
papers, and business was mostly conducted as if no stamp act 
existed. 

When information reached England, of the opposition to 
the stamp act, the subject was brought before Parliament. 
A change had taken place in the ministry, favorable to the 
colonists, and petitions were poured in from the principal com- 
mercial towns of England, deprecating the loss of their com- 
merce. George Grenville, the late prime minister, maintained 
that the honor of the country was implicated in the enforce- 
ment of the act ; that if Great Britian now yielded, America 
was lost. William Pitt, always the friend of America, after 
protracted ill health, had again taken his seat in Parliament. 
He warmly recommended the immediate repeal of the act, 
and declared that on the proposal to tax America, he had 
dreaded the consequences, and had he been able, he would 
have been brought to the House to oppose it. He maintained 
the supremacy of Great Britian in all matters of legislation, 
but asserted that taxes were the gift of the people, through 
their representatives, and that no assembly could grant what 
did not thus belong to it. 

After much hesitation, a bill was brought in and passed, 1766 
repealing the stamp act, but at the same time declaring the 
authority of Great Britian " to bind the colonies in all cases 
whatsoever." 

The news of this step was received in America with a trans- 
port of joy. It was more than was expected. The declaratory 
part of the act was passed over as merely intended to save the 
honor of the British government. Several of the assemblies 
voted thanks to William Pitt and others who had advocated 
their cause, and the house of burgesses in Virginia resolved to 



196 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

New laws of Parliament. 

erect a marble statue of the king, as a memorial of gratitude. 
The importation of British goods was again encouraged, and 
articles of British manufacture came once more into general 
use. 

Some difficulty arose with regard to compensation to the 
sufferers by the disorderly proceedings that had occurred in 
Boston and elsewhere. This was demanded in mild but 
urgent terms by Secretary Conway. Great hesitation was 
shown in complying with the requisition, especially in Mas- 
sachusetts, where it was long delayed. The measure was, 
however, finally agreed to, and, at the same time, a pardon 
granted to all who had been concerned in the riots. 

Fresh difficulties occurred the following year. A law of 
Parliament directed that whenever the king's troops should 
be marched into any of the colonies, quarters should be fur- 
1767 nished them. That law was now changed so as to require 
the colonists to supply them also with certain enumerated 
articles. This, being considered an indirect mode of taxation, 
was opposed ; and in New York, where it first came into 
operation, the assembly refused obedience, and was immedi- 
ately dissolved by the governor. At a subsequent period 
they granted the supplies. 

A new ministry had again come into power ; and Parliament 
imposed duties on the importation of glass, tea, paper and 
some other articles exported from England to America. 
Regulations were made for the establishment of commissioners 
of the customs, and for the more rigid 'collection of the 
revenue. 

When intelligence of these proceedings was received in 
America, the hostile feelings whicli had subsided on the 
repeal of the stamp act, were again aroused, and the press of 
the country was once. more employed in awakening the colo- 



DIFFICULTIES WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 197 

Non-importation agreements. 

nists to a sense of the danger which threatened their liberties. 
The governors, being appointed by the crown, were in favor 
of sustaining the acts of Parliament, thus rendering them- 
selves obnoxious to the people ; and the frequent controver- 
sies which resulted, lessened the attachment of the people 
to the country from which the governors received their 
authority. 

A letter of expostulation from the legislature of Massachu- 1768 
setts, against the new duties, was of no avail ; and a circular 
letter to the other colonial assemblies, urging the importance 
of united action in all eflforts to obtain redress, excited alarm 
in the minds of the ministers. Fearing that a union among 
the colonies would give them strength and confidence, they 
directed the governor of Massachusetts to call on the legisla- 
ture to rescind the resolution respecting the circular letter, 
and, in case of non-compliance, to dissolve the assembly. 
This proposal the legislature rejected by a large majority, 
and were accordingly dissolved. 

By proceedings such as these, opposition to Parliament 
increased, and various measures were adopted for a redress 
of grievances. Finding that petitions and remonstrances 
were unavailing, non-importation agreements were adopted 
more extensively than ever. In a town meeting held in 
Boston, it was resolved to encourage domestic manufactures, 
and to purchase no articles of foreign growth or manufacture, 
but such as were indispensable. The people were at that 
time so dependent on the mother country for supplies, that 
such a measure would deprive them of most of the luxuries, 
and very many of the conveniencies of life ; but after much 
consideration it was adopted. This example was soon fol- 
lowed by other colonies, and associations were also formed 



17* 



198 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

British regiments in Boston. 

1768 among the merchants, for impoithig no article that was not 
actually required. 

Meantime the commissioners of customs arrived at Bos- 
ton and entered on their duties. One of the officers was 
placed on board the sloop Liberty, belonging to John Han- 
cock, laden with wines from Madeira ; when, on attempting to 
discharge the duties of his appointment, he was confined 
in the cabin, and the whole cargo was landed in the night. 
The vessel was, in consequence, condemned and seized. 
This led to some riotous proceedings, in which a custom- 
house boat was burned, and the officers fled for safety to 
a ship of war lying in tlie harbor. The assembly condemned 
these proceedings, and proposed a prosecution of the rioters ; 
but there seemed so little prospect of obtaining a jury who 
would convict, that the attempt was not made. 

In consequence of the determination manifested by the 
people of Boston on various occasions, two regiments were 
ordered from New York to be quartered in that town, to 
protect the officers of the revenue, in the discharge of their 
duties. On arriving in the harbor, the ships that conveyed 
them lay with their broadsides to the town, ready to fire 
should resistance be offered. Seven hundred soldiers then 
landed, and with loaded muskets, fixed bayonets and the 
usual military parade, marched to the Common. In the 
evening, the selectmen of the town having refused to provide 
any accommodations for them, the governor took possession 
of the market hall and state house. All the rooms in the 
latter were filled, excepting the council chamber, and two 
pieces of cannon were placed near the principal entrance. 

This display of military force exasperated the citizens 
of Boston. Even Faneuil Hall, designated as the Cradle 
of Liberty, from having town meetings held in it during 



DIFFICULTIES WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 199 

Opposition to parliamentary taxation. 

these troublous times, was filled with military men, and 
the members of the council had to pass between lines of 
soldiers to reach their hall. Additional regiments were soon 
after stationed in Boston, and before the close of the year the 
troops numbered nearly four thousand men. 

The non-importation agreements which had now been en- 
tered into by many of the colonies, tending to injure the 
London merchants and manufacturers, excited the indigna- 
tion of the ministry, and Parliament was ready to uphold 
them in their views. The spirit of liberty had first showed 
itself in Massachusetts, and petitions were now forwarded 
from the two Houses of Parliament to the king, begging him 
to direct the governor of Massachusetts to institute an inquiry 
into all cases of treason which had occurred since the com- 
mencement of the year now nearly expired, and send the 
offenders to England for trial. 

When this information reached America the general court 
of Massachusetts was not in session. The assembly of 
Virginia, alarmed at the danger which threatened the colonies, 1769 
passed resolutions re-asserting the right to be exempted from 
parliamentary taxation ; and declaring that to send persons 
suspected of crime, beyond the sea to be tried, where they 
could not have a jury from their'own neighborhood, or produce 
witnesses on their trial, would violate the rights of British 
subjects. These resolutions were directed to be forwarded to 
the other assemblies, whose concurrence was earnestly solicited. 
On learning the nature of these proceedings, the governor 
immediately dissolved the assembly. This measure excited 
still further the spirit of opposition. The members immediately 
assembled at a private house, and unanimously passed non- 
importation agreements, similar to those already adopted at 
the north. In the course of a few weeks, this example was 
followed by most of the southern colonies. 



200 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Mob in Boston. 

At the meeting of the general court of Massachusetts in the 
spring, a delegation waited on the governor requesting hira 
to withdraw the naval and military force from Boston, during 
the session of the assembly, as they considered the investment 
of the town, inconsistent with the deliberations of the represent- 
atives of a free people. The governor replied, that he had no 
authority over the troops; and on the refusal of the legislature 
to meet, surrounded with an armed force, and a military guard 
at the door of the state house, he adjourned the meeting to 
Cambridge. A requisition was soon afterward made by the 
governor for funds to defray the expenses of the troops in 
Boston, which being decidedly refused, he immediately pro- 
rogued the general court, to meet at Boston on the lOth of 
First month, (Jan.,) 1770. 

The difficulties and discouragements under which the 
country labored did not entirely put a stop to the progress 
of education. In this year two colleges were founded ; one 
in Bristol coiyity, removed the following year to Providence, 
the other in the town of Hanover, called Dartmouth College, 
from one of its founders, the Earl of Dartmouth. The insti- 
tution, designed originally for the instruction of the Indians, 
was founded by a company in England. A large grant of 
land was made for its support. 
1770 The presence of the military in Boston was painful and 
irritating to the feelings of the inhabitants, and quarrels 
between them and the people were of frequent occurrence. 
An affray at length arose, in which, after some provocation, 
a detachment of the troops fired upon a crowd of people, 
killing four, and wounding others. Several thousand people 
immediately assembled at the beating of the drums, and were 
so enraged by seeing the dead bodies of their countrymen, 
that they were preparing to attack another body of troops, 



DIFFICULTIES WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 201 

Mob in Boston. 

who had been sent to the scene of action, when the lieutenant 1770 
governor succeeded in calming them, and prevailed upon them 
to disperse until morning. 

The next day, the party of troops engaged in the affair 
were arrested and sent to prison. The immediate removal 
of the military force from the town, was demanded by the 
citizens who assembled on the occasion. After some hesita- 
tion on the part of the commanding officer the requisition was 
complied with. 

At the time of the funeral of those who had been killed, 
public feeling was manifested by the closing of the shops, and 
the tolling of the bells of Boston and the neighboring towns. 
An immense procession followed the remains to a vault, where 
they were all deposited. 

When the excitement had to some extent subsided, the 
troops with their captain were brought to trial. They were 
ably defended by lawyers of the popular party, and nearly six 
weeks were spent in examining witnesses and listening to the 
arguments of the counsel. The captain and six of the men 
were acquitted, and two, considering the provocation which 
had been given, were found guilty of manslaughter only. 
This result proves great impartiality in the jury, as well as 
the magnanimity of the counsel. 

While these things were passing in America, Lord North 
commenced his important career as prime minister. The 
merchants had begun to suffer severely the effects of the non- 
importation agreements. The exports had fallen in the course 
of one year, from nearly two and a half million pounds ster- 
ling, to a little over one and a half millions. The new minis- 
ter proposed to withdraw the duties, as tending to discourage 
their own manufactures, with the exception of that on tea, 
which was to be retained by way of asserting the right of 



202 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Revenue laws enforced. 

Parliament to lay a tax on the colonies. After considerable 
discussion, in which the repeal of all the duties was advocated 
by some, while others opposed any concession, the proposal 
of Lord North was carried. 

This partial repeal produced no change in the sen- 
timents of the people ; the principle was still involved. 
The non-importation agreements, however, were made to cor- 
respond with the law, and tea alone was now excluded. A 
brisk trade was commenced in the other articles which had 
been taxed, and the southern colonies, more agricultural than 

1771 commercial, although not entirely satisfied, were inclined to 
acquiesce in the proceedings of Parliament. In the northern 
colonies commerce was much restricted by the enforcement of 
the revenue laws ; and although the year 1771 passed without 
any decided outbreak of popular feeling, yet the public mind 
was indignant at the manner in which the officers of the revenue 
executed their commission. The zeal and arrogance of one of 
these led to an act of hostility the following year, which 
exasperated the British ministry. 

1772 The commander of the revenue schooner, stationed near 
Providence, had rendered himself particularly obnoxious to 
the people, by the rigidity with which he not only enforced 
the revenue laws, but required of the packets, in passing 
him, to lower their colors. This being refused by the Prov- 
idence packet, with passengers on board, a shot was fired at 
her, which being disregarded, the captain quietly continuing 
his course, the schooner started in pursuit. By keeping in 
shoal water, the American captain contrived to run the 
schooner aground, about seven miles below Providence, where, 
with an ebbing tide, she was made fast for the night. The 
schooner was soon boarded by some of the inhabitants of 
Providence, the commander and crew were required to leave 



DIFFICULTIES WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 203 



Committees of correspondence appointed. 



the vessel, after a scuffle in which the former was wounded, 1772 
and were carefully set on shore. The vessel with her stores 
was then burned. 

A reward of five hundred pounds was offered by the gov- 
ernor for the discovery of any persons engaged in the affair ; 
but this and all other measures proved ineffectual. The in- 
formation was transmitted to the ministry, but no evidence 
could be procured, and there the matter term.inated. There 
was too much unanimity in resisting oppression, even for 
the offer of a pardon to the parties implicated, to elicit in- 
formation. 

Hitherto certain law officers, appointed by the crown- for 
the colony of Massachusetts, had received but a scanty salary 
apportioned them by the assembly. This year, the crown grant- 
ed them liberal salaries out of the revenue derived from the 
colonies. This measure, which rendered these officers entirely 
independent of the people, created much alarm. The inhab- 
itants of Bcston met in the fall, and petitioned the governor 
to call an assembly, which he refused to do. To produce 
concert of action, and to consider what was to be done in this 
season of danger, committees of correspondence were appoint- 
ed in the several towns of the province. This example was 
soon followed by other colonies, and in the following year, at 1773 
the suggestion of the Virginia assembly, the colonial legisla- 
tures appointed similar committees, by which means an in- 
terchange of sentiment was kept up by the inhabitants of the 
different provinces. 

In the course of this year. Dr. Benjamin Franklin, who 
had for some years been the agent, in London, of the Massa- 
chusetts colony, obtained possession of some letters written by 
the governor of Massachusetts and some other individuals, to 
their correspondents in Parliament, which he transmitted to 



204 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Tea sent to the colonies. 

1773 Boston. They stated that the opposition was confined to a 
few individuals, who were not countenanced by the body of 
the people, and who had but gathered strength by the ineffec- 
tual means used to restrain them. More vigorous measures 
were recommended, and the ministry were urged to take from 
tbe people the power of appointing colonial magistrates, and 
to make all the high offices dependent solely on the crown for 
their salaries. 

Printed copies of these letters were inclosed to all the towns 
in the province. The people were exasperated. A vote of 
censure was passed on the writers of the letters, and the as- 
sembly petitioned the king for their removal from office. The 
petition was disregarded, and the hope of a better understand- 
ing with the mother country was diminished by the thought 
of having persons among them engaged in misrepresenting 
them to the ministry. 

Meanwhile the tea of the East India Company accumulated 
in the warehouses of England. In this state of things they 
appHed to Parliament for relief, who allowed them to export 
it free of duty, by which regulation it could be offered in 
America, even at a lower rate than before it was made a source 
of revenue. Encouraged in this way, and fully expecting to 
find a market, they resolved to send large cargoes to some of 
the principal seaports, and appointed agents for disposing 
of it. 

It was now to be seen whether the colonists were united in 
their resistance to taxation, or whether the opposition was con- 
fined to a few. In New York and Philadelphia the pilots 
were intimidated by the threats of the people, from conducting 
any ship, loaded with tea, into the harbor, so that the captains 
of the vessels bound for these two ports returned with their 
cargoes to England. In Charleston the ships were unloaded, 



DIFFICULTIES WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 205 

Destruction of tea in Boston harbor. 

and the tea was stored in cellars, where it remained until 1773 
ruined bj the dampness of the situation. 

In several of the ports the disapprobation expressed by the 
citizens had been so great as to induce the agents to resign 
their appointments. But it was not so in Boston. There 
the tea had been consigned to the particular friends of Gover- 
nor Hutchinson, and no efforts or threats from the people 
could induce them to decline their appointments. The ves- 
sels containing the tea lay for some days in the harbor ; the 
citizens from a numerous town meeting, having sent the most 
peremptory orders that it should not be landed, and a strict 
watch being kept to prevent its being secretly brought on 
shore. The captains wished to return without running the 
risk of losing their cargoes ; a short time was allowed them 
to prepare to do so, but the custom-house officers would not 
grant clearances to the vessels, nor would the governor allow 
them to pass Castle William. At length the people could be 
restrained no longer, and on the 16th of Twelfth month, (Dee.,) 
a company of about seventeen men, disguised as Indians, 
boarded the vessels, raised the hatches and threw into the 
water the contents of three hundred and forty-two chests of 
tea. 

This step was not taken without premeditation. The citi- 
zens of Boston had been publicly addressed on the subject. 
Josiah Quincy, a leading statesman, in one of those large and 
important town meetings, made these remarks, " Let us con- 
sider the issue ; let us look to the end ; let us weigh and 
deliberate, before we advance to those measures which must 
bring on the most trying and terrible struggle this country 
ever saw." 

Parliament was much incensed by these proceedings. 
A bill was passed which received the royal assent, prohibit- 

16 



206 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Boston Port bill. Other obnoxious laws. 

1774 ing the lading or unlading of vessels with goods or mer- 
chandise, excepting stores for the service of the king, and 
provisions and fuel for the use of the inhabitants, with- 
in the port of Boston, until good order and obedience to 
the laws were restored, and compensation had been made 
to the East India Company. This was known as the Boston 
Port bill. To enforce these enactments, four ships of war 
were ordered to the port of Boston. The custom house was 
removed to Salem. 

Not satisfied with this bill alone, another was passed by 
Parliament, re-modelling the charter, and giving to the king 
the appointment of all important officers ; thus securing the 
magistrates in favor with the British interests. Still another 
obnoxious law was added, by which, persons indicted for any 
offence, committed in aiding the magistrates, might be re- 
moved to another colony, or even to England for trial. 

Fearing that an appeal to arms would ensue, the British 
government took measures for securing the attachment of the 
people of Canada. Extensive powers were conferred on a 
legislative council, the members of which were to be nominated 
by the king ; a perfect equality of religion was established 
between the Papists and Protestants, the privileges of the 
clergy were secured to them, and the French laws were con- 
firmed. These proceedings doubtless had an important in- 
fluence in deciding the course of the Carmdians in the ap- 
proaching war. 

Massachusetts, firm in her determination to resist oppres- 
sion, seems to have been the special object of indignation. 
But the course of the home government toward this province, 
instead of having the effect of dividing the colonies, united them 
more closely, for they knew that she was suffering in a cause 
equally dear to them all. 



DIFFICULTIES WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 207 

Effects of the Boston Port bill. 

At a town meeting, held immediately on the intelligence 1774 
being received of the Boston Port bill, resolutions were 
passed expressing the impolicy and injustice of the act ; and 
proposing to the other colonies to unite with them in a general 
non-importation agreement. The effect of this bill was to 
convert a prosperous town, the seat of commerce and plenty, 
into a scene of suffering. Various classes were affected by 
the change. Laborers were thrown out of employment, ex- 
pensive stores and fine wharves were rendered useless, the 
income of landholders was greatly diminished, where it did not 
entirely cease. The other colonies gave assurances of sup- 
port, and in Philadelphia and other places, collections were 
taken up in aid of the sufferers. The people of Marblehead 
and other seaport towns in Massachusetts, offered to Boston 
the use of their harbors, wharves and warehouses, free of ex- 
pense ; and Salem, to which the custom house had been re- 
moved, refused to receive the trade of Boston, and sent an 
address to the governor, declining the advantageous offers 
made to them. The 1st day of Sixth month, (June,) when the 
law went into effect, was observed in most of the colonies as 
a public and solemn fast. 

The Virginian assembly had been dissolved by the gover- 
nor for proposing a general fast day, but previously to their 
separation, they had suggested that a general congress should 
meet to deliberate on the state of the country. One of the 
first acts of the Massachusetts general court, which assem- 
bled at Salem, was the choice of delegates to attend the con- 
gress to be held at Philadelphia on the 1st of Ninth month 
(Sept.) While engaged in this business with closed doors, 
Governor Gage, who had been privately informed of their 
proceedings, sent his secretary to dissolve the assembly. 
Being refused admittance, the proclamation was read aloud on 
the staircase. 



208 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

A general congress at Philadelphia. 

1774 The cause of the inhabitants of Boston was becoming in- 
creasingly popular ; so that although there were those in the 
country under the name of Tories, who were friendly to the 
claims of the British government, yet their influence was lost 
by overwhelming majorities. That powerful agent, the press, 
too, was in the hands of those friendly to the people, and 
was very generally employed in supporting the cause of the 
colonists. 

The necessity for a general congress became more appa- 
rent, and the measure was soon adopted by all the colonies 
excepting Georgia. On the 4th of Ninth month, (Sept.,) 
1774, the delegates met. Their deliberations were conduct- 
ed with closed doors, and such only of their proceedings were 
known as they thought suitable to publish. Resolutions 
were adopted expressive of sympathy with the sufferings 
of their countrymen in Massachusetts, and promising them 
general support. They also recommended that contributions 
from all the colonies should be taken up to relieve their 
distresses. It was agreed that no goods should be imported 
from Great Britain after the first day of Twelfth month, 
(Dec.,) and that no exports should be made to that country 
after the 10th of Ninth month, (Sept.,) 1775, unless the 
grievances had been redressed. These resolutions were 
strictly adhered to by the American people, although they 
possessed no legal force. Addresses to the king and to the 
people of Great Britain were prepared, in which attention 
was directed to the means of averting civil war. The feel- 
ings of the people were clearly and ably delineated, a deter- 
mination was shown to maintain their rights, a desire for 
independence was denied, and a strong attachment for the 
mother country and for the king expressed.* 

* In an address to the inhabitants of Canada, the Congress endeav- 
ored to induce them to join the confederacy. 



DIFFICULTIES WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 209 

Preparations for war. 

These papers, being published, were admired in Europe, 1774 
and enlisted much feeling in the cause of American liberty. 
In the British House of JiOrds, William Pitt, then Earl 
of Chatham, spoke of the dignity, the firmness and the 
wisdom with which the Americans had acted, and added, " I 
trust it is obvious to your lordships that all attempts to 
impose servitude on such men, to establish despotism over 
such a mighty continental nation, must be vain, must bo 
futile." In America the proceedings of the congress were 
received with enthusiasm, confirming the conviction which 
was generally, though not universally, felt of the justice 
of the cause in which the people had engaged. 

The crisis was near at hand. The colonists were now 
embarked in a common cause, and a violent struggle was 
expected. War, that awful and desolating scourge, was 
about to burst upon the country, checking its prosperity 
and involving thousands of victims. Martial preparations 
covered the land. Companies of volunteers were organized 
in the different cities and villages, and munitions of war were 
industriously collected and concealed from the officers of the 
government. 

Massachusetts being considered the seat of the difficulty, 
General Gage, governor of the province, and also commander- 
in-chief of all the British forces in America, withdrew several 
regiments of troops from different parts of the continent, and 
encamped them on the Common at Boston. He also raised 
fortifications on Boston Neck, and having seized the ammuni- 
tion and stores contained in the provincial arsenal and maga- 
zines at Cambridge and Charlestown, conveyed them to 
Boston. 

A provincial congress now assembled at Concord. A com- 
mittee was appointed to request General Gage to desist from 
18* 



210 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Plan for the defence of Massachusetts. 

1774 fortifying the entrance to Boston. In return he expressed 
indignation at the supposition of danger from English troops, 
to any but the enemies of England, and warned the congress 
to desist from its illegal proceedings. That body afterward 
adjourned to Cambridge, in the immediate vicinity of Boston, 
where a committee was appointed to prepare a plan for the 
defence of the province. It was agreed to purchase military 
stores, and a committee of supplies was appointed ; also to 
enlist a number of men who should be in readiness to appear 
in arms, at a minute's warning, hence called minute-men; 
with a committee of safety, who were authorized to call out 
these men, when thought necessary for the defence of the 
inhabitants. 

Notwithstanding the serious and portentous aspect which 
the affairs of the country had assumed, many of the colonists 
still hoped there would be no resort to arms. Their non-im- 
portation agreements had heretofore produced the desired 
effect, and they could not but think their inflexible determi- 
nation of adhering to similar measures would again produce 
favorable results, and that England would yet come to terms 
of conciliation with the best customers of her merchandise. 
But New York evinced irresolution, which encouraged the 
British government to persist in its plan, and to believe that 
by dividing the colonies all might easily be subjugated. 

1775 America had her friends in Parliament, and several bills 
were introduced for adjusting the difficulties, but they were 
rejected. The Earl of Chatham, now in the decline of life, 
again plead for the mitigation of the offensive measures, and 
demonstrated the impossibility of subjugating the country; 
but it was of no avail, Parliament would not repeal any ob- 
noxious law. A bill was also passed for restricting the 



DIFFICULTIES WITH GREAT BRITAIN. 211 

Concessions rejected. 

commerce of the colonies, and prohibiting them from the 1775 
fisheries on the banks of Newfoundland. New York and 
North Carolina were excepted in consequence of their supposed 
dissent from the measures of the other provinces. Thus 
jealousy prevailed between the colonies and England, conces- 
sions were rejected, and the storm continued rapidly to 
approach. 



CHAPTER XX 

WAR. THE REVOLUTION. 



Battle of Lexington. 



2775 A QUANTITY of provisions and military stores had been 
collected at Concord, about eighteen miles from Boston- 
These General Gage determined to destroy ; and on the 
evening of the 18th of Fourth month, (April,) he de- 
spatched for this object a body of eight hundred troops. 
Although the arrangements had been made with great secre- 
cy, and the dark and still hours of night were chosen for the 
expedition, yet messengers were sent from Boston with the 
information. The minute-men were soon assembled by the 
ringing of bells and the firing of signal guns. When the 
troops reached Lexington, six miles below Concord, about 
seventy of the provincials were found on parade and under 
arms. These were ordered by the British officers to throw 
down their arms and disperse ; but not obeying the order, 
the English soldiers were commanded to fire. Eight of the 
provincials were killed, some of them after the party had 
begun to retire ; several others were wounded. 

The detachment then proceeded to Concord. Here also 
the minute-men were collected for defence ; but being few in 
number, retreated at the approach of the troops, arid waited 
for reinforcements. The first act of the British was to cut 
off communication with the neighboring towns, by destroying 
or occupying the bridges, and thus prevent all assistance 
from reaching the provincials. A party was sent immediate- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 213 

Destruction of provisions and stores. Retreat of the British. 

ly forward to destroy the provisions and stores. These 1775 
effected tlieir object; sixty barrels of flour and a large 
amount of military stores were destroyed. 

Meanwhile the provincials gathered on a neighboring hill, 
near one of the bridges, where a party of the British was 
stationed. A general action ensued, which resulted in the 
retreat of the troops toward the centre of the town. Time 
was not even given for rest, after a fatiguing march ; their 
dead were hastily buried, the wounded placed in such vehi- 
cles as could be obtained, and the flight commenced. At 
Lexington they were joined by another detachment sent 
forward by General Gage ; but the whole party was thrown 
into great confusion by the firing of the provincials. 

A half hour was given to the exhausted fugitives to rest, 
when the march was resumed. The houses on the road were 
plundered, and set on fire. In most cases the flames were 
soon extinguished, but some houses were destroyed. The 
struggle was not yet over. At every defile the contest was 
renewed, and before the close of the day, sixty-five of the 
British had been killed, nearly two hundred wounded, and 
twenty-eight made prisoners. The loss of the Americans 
was fifty killed and thirty-four wounded. After sunset the 
worn-out soldiers reached Bunker Hill, where they re- 
mained through the night, and the next morning entered 
Boston. 

The battle of Lexington was the signal for war ; even 
New York, where Tory influence was the strongest, now 
decided to stand by her countrymen. The Massachu- 
setts provincial congress immediately concluded to raise an 
army of thirty thousand men in New England, and prepara- 
tions for the war went on in the other colonies. Many of the 
forts, magazines and arsenals which had been in possession of 



214 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Burning of Norfolk. Boston besieged. 

1775 the British authorities, were seized by the provincial soldiers, 
and a considerable force was added to the American array, 
which had commenced a siege of Boston. Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point were both taken, which, with the capture of a 
sloop-of-war, lying at St. Johns, gave the Americans the 
command of Lake George and Lake Champlain. In Vir- 
ginia and North and South Carolina, the royal governors 
were compelled to take refuge on board sloops of war. Lord 
Dunmore, governor of Virginia, unable to procure provisions, 
sent parties of sailors ashore, who set fire to Norfolk, the 
most flourishing commercial town in that colony. The 
ffames spread rapidly among the wooden buildings, and what 
were not consumed now, were afterward destroyed by the 
Americans, that they might afford no shelter to British 
soldiers. 

Early in the summer three vessels, with troops, command- 
ed by Generals Howe, Burgoyne and Clinton, arrived at 
Boston, and shortly afterward General Gage declared mar- 
tial law to be in force ; having previously offered pardon to 
all who would lay down their arms and submit to the king, 
excepting Samuel Adams and John Hancock. 

Unwilling to be confined in Boston by a surrounding force 
of provincial troops. General Gage made preparations for 
penetrating into the country with a portion of his army. To 
prevent this, the Americans resolved to fortify Bunker Hill, 
an eminence in Charlestown, so situated as to render its pos- 
session a matter of great importance to either of the contend- 
ing parties. By some mistake. Breed's Hill, which is nearer 
to the water and to the city, was selected, and at twelve 
o'clock on the evening of the 16th of Sixth month, (June,) 
the fortifications were commenced and had proceeded to a 
considerable extent, when at the dawn of day they were 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 215 

Burning of Charlestown. Battle of Bunker Hill. 

discovered and fired upon from an armed ship and several 1775 
floating batteries lying near. Encouraged by General Put- 
nam, however, they persevered until they had completed 
their work. 

Aware of the importance of this position. General Gage 
determined to drive the Americans from it, and despatched 
three thousand troops under the command of General Howe, 
for this service. The interest to know the result of the ap- 
proaching battle was intense ; the roofs of the houses and 
every eminence in Boston and the surrounding neighborhood 
were covered with people, anxiously waiting the event. Orders 
had been given by General Gage to set fire to the village 
of Charlestown. It was soon enveloped in flames, adding 
to the destruction of the day. The British ascended the 
hill in military order, firing as they approached the low line 
of fortifications on the summit, behind which lay the American 
army. The Americans reserved their fire until the British were 
within less than one hundred yards of the fortification, when 
by a simultaneous discharge, the British line was broken, and 
they were driven back toward the water in disorder. Again 
they were rallied and approached as before, when another de- 
structive fire threw them once more into confusion. A third 
time they were reluctantly led to the attack, aided by rein- 
forcements from Boston. The ammunition of the Americans 
was now nearly exhausted, and the British had succeeded in 
placing some of their cannon so as to bear directly behind the 
breastwork, sweeping at -one stroke the whole line in awful 
destruction. The fire from the ships and batteries was also 
redoubled. From this contest, the Americans were forced 
to retire, defending themselves as they withdrew with the 
butt-ends of their muskets. 

The loss of the Americans, in killed and wounded, was 



216 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

George Washington commander-in-chief. Burning of Falmouth. 

1775 four hundred and fifty-three, out of fifteen hundred engaged 
in the battle ; that of the British was one thousand and fifty- 
four, out of three thousand. General Warren, a highly pop- 
ular American ofiicer, who fell on that day, was especially 
regretted by his countrymen. He had early espoused the 
cause of freedom, and to many social virtues were added the 
eloquence of an orator and the wisdom of a statesman. But 
his career was arrested, and the talents which might have 
adorned and served his country were lost by this terrible 
battle. 

The continental congress had assembled in Philadelphia on 
the 10th of Fifth month, (May.) Once more they resolved on 
a petition to the king, for a redress of grievances, and also de 
cided that means of defence should be immediately prepared. 
They then proceeded to the organization of the army, and 
unanimously voted George Washington, at that time a dele- 
gate from Virginia, commander-in-chief of all the American 
forces. His integrity was undoubted, and he was known to 
be warmly attached to the interests of his country. The is 
suing of bills of credit to the amount of three millions of dol- 
lars, for defraying the expenses of the war, was authorized, 
and the colonies were pledged unitedly for their redemption. 

In time of war, the destruction of property, or even the 
jeopardizing of human life, is considered of but little moment, 
if some particular point can be gained. The British ministry 
had given orders for the destruction of the seaports of the 
colonies; in consequence, four ships sailed for Falmouth, now 
Portland, Maine, in the fall of the year. Having offered 
terms of submission which were rejected, the town, consisting 
of about four hundred dwelling-houses and stores, was entire- 
ly destroyed by shells and shot thrown out during a whole 
day. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 217 

Capture of British stores. Formation of a new army. 

Soon after his appointment, General Washington proceeded 1775 
to Cambridge, the seat of the American army, which consist- 
ed at that time of fourteen thousand men, and formed a line 
for a distance of twelve miles, on the heights around Boston. 
They were deficient in discipline, and without most of the 
comforts and conveniences usually provided for regular 
armies. The supply of arms and ammunition was scanty. 
Some degree of system and regularity was soon introduced, 
and arrangements were made for the manufacture of gun- 
powder. Several ships, laden with various stores for the 
British army, were captured by American vessels, affording 
to the colonial troops a seasonable supply, while the loss was 
severely felt by those for whom the cargoes had been designed. 

Washington soon began to perceive that the expense of 
maintaining an army far exceeded the expectation of Con- 
gress ; he also felt the embarrassment of his situation, as the 
expiration of the time for which the soldiers had been en- 
gaged to serve, drew near. A speedy settlement of the difficul- 
ties having been anticipated, the enlistments had been for a 
short period. Before the close of this year, Congress resolved 
to form a new army of twenty thousand men, to be composed, 
as far as practicable, of the troops then in service. The 
colonies severally agreed to furnish their respective quota, but 
the recruiting proceeded slowly ; and when the old army was 
disbanded, there had been but between nine and ten thousand 
enlistments for that of 1776. The privations and hardships 
those had undergone who had already served, had considerably 
diminished their zeal, their fatiguing labors had affected their 
health, and many were weary of the separation from their wives 
and families. 

Meantime the British troops in Boston suffered many pri- 1776 
vations ; persons from the country were unwilling to sell them 
19 



218 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Evacuation of Boston. 

provisions, and the supplies sent them from England were 
much interrupted by the vessels which had been fitted out for 
the protection of the coast. 

Impatient of delay, an attack on Boston was demanded ; 
but a council of war decided against it, and recommended 
that the town should be more closely besieged. Washington 
therefore resolved to fortify Dorchester Heights, and having 
diverted the attention of the British by a brisk cannonade in 
another quarter, a party of troops with great industry during 
the night erected a line of fortifications which commanded 
the harbor and the town. Great was the astonishment of 
General Howe, who had succeeded Gage in the chief com- 
mand, on first beholding the works ; and he immediately de- 
termined to dislodge the Americans, or evacuate the town. 
The next day a large number of troops embarked in boats to 
attack the works, but a severe storm dispersed them, and 
before any thing else could be done, the works had been 
rendered still stronger ; and a council of war decided on a 
departure from Boston, as soon as practicable. On the 1 7th 
of Third month, (March,) the embarkation was effected, and 
Washington and his adherents entered the place. Supposing 
the British had proceeded to New York, the American army 
in detachments hastened there ; but Halifax was the place of 
their destination. 
1775 While these events were transpiring in New England, a 
detachment of the provincial army was sent into Canada 
under command of General Schuyler. The friendship and 
assistance of the Canadians, in the struggle in which the 
colonists were engaged, had been considered quite important 
by Congress. To enlist their sympathies, addresses had fre- 
quently been sent them, which had been translated into 
French, and circulated amouo; the inhabitants. These had 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 



219 



Invasion of Canada. Taking of Montreal. 

had considerable influence, and many of the people were quite 1775 
disposed to favor the colonists, when the novel expedient was 
agreed on, to secure their cooperation by sending an army 
into their country to besiege their cities and attack their for- 
tifications. 

Three thousand troops entered the province on the 10th of 
Ninth month, (Sept.,) 1775 The first act of hostility was 
committed in an attack on Fort St. Johns. One attempt to get 
possession was unsuccessful, but on receiving reinforcements 
the attack was renewed, and after a strong defence the fort 
was surrendered. 

A small detachment of the army having been sent into the 
interior of Canada, the commander was, on his return, in- 
duced to attack Montreal. They were opposed by the whole 
British force under Governor Carleton. After many had 
been killed, the assailants were obliged to surrender, and 
their commander, Colonel Ethan Allen, was sent by the gov- 
ernor to England, for trial as a rebel, loaded with irons. 

The aggressive war against the Canadians was now fully 
commenced. Another fort, a few miles distant from St. 
Johns, fell into the hands of the Americans, with less loss of 
life than at the former place. A victory was also gained over 
Governor Carleton, who with a small company had advanced 
from Montreal, but on approaching the enemy, they were 
met by so unexpected and destructive a fire from persons in 
concealment, that they retreated in confusion. 

General Montgomery, who had become chief in command, 
by the illness and consequent return of General Schuyler, pre- 
viously to the taking of Fort St. John, now hastened to Mon- 
treal. The governor, feeling that the place could not be suf- 
ficiently defended, left it in the night, with a small body of 
soldiers, under General Prescott. Montgomery entered the 



2tQ HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Treatment of the Canadians. 

1775 next day ; no terms had been made, but he treated the inhab- 
itants with kindness, and declared that their religion, rights 
and property should be respected. On reaching the mouth 
of the river Sorel, the British encountered a naval force which 
had been stationed there by Montgomery, to prevent their 
escape to Quebec. Finding themselves unable to force a 
passage, they surrendered, the governor having the night pre- 
viously passed through the squadron in a boat with muffled oars. 

When the American army entered Canada, a proclamation 
was issued to the Canadians, exhorting them to join their 
brethren in the cause of freedom, and declaring the troops to 
be friends of the inhabitants, and enemies only of the British 
garrisons. Many of the people were at that time favorably 
disposed toward them, but by the subsequent behavior of the 
soldiers, hostility was provoked. They were an undisciplined 
band, that treated the religion of the Canadians with disre- 
spect, and in their traffic for provisions, compelled the people 
to give them articles below the market prices, giving as pay- 
ment, illegal certificates for goods which they had already 
received, and which were consequently rejected by the quar- 
ter-master general ; nor did the Canadians meet with any 
thing but insults, when payment was demanded for just 
debts. Opposition to the Americans was thus induced, and 
the sympathies of the Canadians were enlisted on the other 
side ; and although Congress, on receiving this information, 
ordered justice done, it was too late. 

Having left a detachment to keep possession of Montreal, 
Montgomery hastened to Quebec. It was now late in the 
autumn. The term of service for which many of the soldiers 
had enlisted, was nearly expired ; they were weary of privation 
and hardship, and insisted on returning home. Their great 
attachment to their commander, and his urgent entreaties to 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 221 

Arnold's expedition. 

proceed on the expedition, availed nothing ; and Montgomery, 1775 
with the remnant of his force, consisting of but three hundred 
men, proceeded to Quebec, expecting there to meet a reinforce- 
ment from the army around Boston. 

Two months previously, Washington had despatched eleven 
hundred men under Colonel Arnold, with directions to march 
across the country against Quebec. The route had never 
been explored, and lay through the forests of Maine. After 
much suffering from the severity of the weather, and the 
want of provisions, they separated into several divisions. One 
of these, unable to advance, returned to the camp at Roxbury ; 
the remainder pressed through every difficulty, toiling through 
the wilderness without meeting a human being, until, their 
provisions being exhausted, Arnold, with a few followers, ad- 
vanced a distance of thirty miles, and obtained a supply from 
the nearest Canadian settlement. At length, after seven 
weeks of suffering, the party, much diminished, arrived before 
Quebec. 

By the imprudence of Arnold in intrusting a letter for 
General Schuyler to an Indian who was a stranger, the 
British had been made acquainted with the approach of the 
American forces. The boats had all been withdrawn, none 
could be procured for crossing the river, and in the mean 
time the city was placed in a posture of defence. In five 
days Arnold succeeded in crossing the river, with five hun- 
dred men in canoes, but could not immediately attack the town 
for want of the scaling ladders, which he had not as yet been 
able to convey across the river. Marching his troops in sight 
of the garrison, the British were fully on their guard, and 
fired upon his flag of truce. He then retired to Point Aux 
Trembles, about twenty miles up the river, where he was soon 
joined by Montgomery with his small remnant. 
19* 



222 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Americans retreat from Quebec, 

1775 On the 5th of Twelfth month, (Dec.,) having succeeded in 
conveying the scaling ladders across the river, the whole force, 
amounting to nine hundred men, appeared before Quebec. 
A flag of truce sent by Montgomery was fired upon. After 
erecting batteries, an attack was commenced, but no impres- 
sion could be made on the walls. The cold was intense, the 
snow falling fast, and the sufferings of the troops were even 
greater than they had heretofore experienced. In the midst 
of this distress, the small-pox was introduced among the sol- 
diers, and by lessening the number of those who were able 
to labor, increased the duties of the others. Many of the men 
had inoculated themselves, although orders to the contrary 
had been given, and such was the spread of the disease, that 
notwithstanding the arrival of reinforcements, but nine hun- 
dred men were fit for service, while medicines and the comforts 
and conveniences necessary for the sick were wanting. 

Montgomery perceived there was no time to be lost, and 
determined to storm the town. In order to divert attention, 
two feigned attacks were made on the upper town, while 
Montgomery and Arnold separately directed their forces in 
another quarter. The former was at first successful. The 
British had begun to retire, when one of them returned to 
the battery and discharged one of the guns ; Blontgomery, 
two captains, and two other men were killed on the spot. The 
rest of the division precipitately retreated. Arnold and his 
party maintained an obstinate conflict for a considerable time, 
when he was severely wounded and carried oflf the field. His 
party for three hours encountered a deadly fire, when, fa- 
tigued with exertion and benumbed with cold, they retreated, 
leaving many of the men in the hands of the British. 

In this desperate engagement, so large a number of the 
Americans had been killed or taken prisoners, that, from nin 



THE EEVOLUTIONARY WAR. 223 

Death of Montgomery. British reinforced. 

hundred, the provincial army had been reduced to four hun- 
dred effective men. The loss of their commander was severe- 
ly felt ; few men have fallen in battle more beloved and 
respected than Montgomery. The sick and wounded were 
treated with much humanity by Carleton, the British com- 
mander, who, as they recovered, permitted them to return to 
their homes. In the hope of receiving reinforcements, Arnold, 
who again had the command, decided to remain in the vicinity, 
and maintained a blockade of the place, cutting off supplies 
of provisions, so that the garrison was reduced to great dis- 
tress. With the addition of a small force from Massachu- 
setts, and all that could be spared from Montreal, the siege 
was resumed, but without effect. 

Meantime, the difficulties of obtaining provisions became 1776 
greater, the small-pox continued its ravages, and the spirits 
of the soldiers became depressed. On a review of the army 
by General Thomas, who had been appointed to succeed Mont- 
gomery, he found it to consist of nearly two thousand men, of 
whom, one-half were disqualified for service. In the expec- 
tation that the British would be reinforced, as soon as the ice 
left the river, a council of war decided to remove the army 
higher up the St. Lawrence. While engaged in removing 
the sick, several ships entered the harbor, and a multitude of 
British troops were added to the force in the city. Gover- 
nor Carleton soon marched out to attack the Americans, who 
continued to retreat ; most of the sick and all of the stores 
fell into his hands. The former were treated with the hu- 
manity characteristic of the governor, and when recovered, 
were allowed to return to their homes. The Americans with- 
drew to the mouth of the Sorel, where General Thomas died 
of the small-pox, which still prevailed. 

The Americans had established a military fort, called the 



224 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Americans withdraw from Canada. 

1776 Cedars, on the St. Lawrence, about forty miles above Mon- 
treal. Being attacked by a large body of British and In- 
dians, the place was surrendered after a short resistance, the 
commander liavingfreceived intimation that if any of the In- 
dians should be killed, they could not be restrained from the 
massacre of the garrison. A body of Americans, sent from 
Montreal to the assistance of the force at the Cedars, not 
being aware of its surrender, was met by a large party of 
Indians. A bloody conflict ensued, in which many of the 
Americans were killed, and the rest made prisoners. 

The British sea and land forces had by this time been 
much increased, and it soon became evident that the Ameri- 
cans must abandon the province. An expedition to surprise 
the British in their head-quarters entirely failed. Arnold 
withdrew from Montreal and retired to Crown Point, at the 
head of Lake Champlain, with but little loss in the retreat. 
The forces stationed at the Sorel were pursued by Governor 
Carleton as far as St. Johns, but the retreating army con- 
tinued their march to Crown Point. 

Thus ended the invasion of Canada. For nine months had 
the American army been in the province. During this period 
many lives had been sacrificed, and much suffering endured, 
that never can be estimated ; and enemies made of the Cana- 
dians, instead of friends. In the course of the autumn, 
General Carleton succeeded in once more gaining possession 
of Crown Point, which again gave him the command of Lake 
Champlain. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

CONTINUATION OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 

Independence advocated. 

Congress had not given up all hopes of reconciliation with 1776 
England, when early in this year, information was received, 
from the agent who had presented the last petition to the 
king, that no answer might be expected, and that additional 
preparations were making to subdue the colonists. All an- 
ticipations of this kind were crushed by such intelligence, 
and it became evident that the struofc^le must terminate in the 
entire independence of the colonies, or in their complete sub- 
jugation to the British crown. 

A law was soon after passed by Parliament, prohibiting all 
commerce with the colonies, and authorizing the capture of 
all vessels engaged in trade on the American coast, whether 
American or otherwise. Treaties had also been made with 
the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel and other German princes, 
hiring of them seventeen thousand men, to be employed in 
the British service in America. This act gave peculiar offence 
to the colonists, and strengthened their determination to resist. 

Independence became now more generally advocated. The 
most able writers demonstrated the necessity of such a step, 
and urged the establishment of colonial governments. The 
subject was fully discussed in the different provinces, and the 
members of Congress received instructions from their con- 
stituents. In Fifth month, (May,) they recommended to 



^m 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Charleston attacked. 



1776 those provinces which had not yet adopted constitutions, 
to form such governments as would most conduce to the hap- 
piness and prosperity of the people. 

In the mean time, additional preparations for the war were 
in progress. Besides the Hessians or soldiers from Hesse Cas- 
sel, twenty-five thousand English troops were to be sent over. 
An ofiicial letter, announcing the proposed departure of the 
expedition, and that a part of it was designed to be sent 
against Charleston, South Carolina, was intercepted, which 
gave an opportunity to place the city in a state of defence. 
Regiments arrived from the neighboring provinces, and the 
militia of the country were called to the service. A strong 
fort was erected on Sullivan's Island, lying directly opposite 
the entrance to the harbor ; valuable storehouses were pulled 
down, and lines of defence constructed along the water's 
edge. In addition to the regiment on Sullivan's Island, 
one was also stationed on James Island, forming increased 
protection to the channel leading to the city. During this 
preparation, lead for bullets was so scarce that the weights 
were taken from the windows, for a small supply. The chief 
command had been given to General Lee. 

On the 28th of Sixth month, (June,) the British fleet 
began an attack against the fort on Sullivan's Island ; and at 
the same time a detachment of troops, having effected a land- 
ing on an adjoining island, were directed to attack the fort on 
the other side, but were unable to ford the channel. 

The firing between the fort and the vessels was continued 
during the whole day ; the troops in the city looking on with 
the most intense interest, not knowing when they might be 
called to action. Many of the ships suffered severely, and 
the destruction of those on board was great. The loss of the 
British in killed and wounded amounted to nearly two hun- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 227 

Declaration of Independence. 

dred. In the night the vessels engaged in the action with- 1776 
drew, and a few days afterward, the whole fleet set sail for 
New York, the place of rendezvous of the British forces in the 
country. 

In Sixth month, (June,) the subject of the independence 
of the American colonies was taken into serious consideration 
by Congress. It had been discussed in the various provinces, 
and the measure had met with some opposition. A resolu- 
tion was now introduced declaring the colonies free and in- 
dependent. This led to a most animated and eloquent debate, 
but the subject was deferred, the representatives from Penn- 
sylvania and Maryland having been instructed to oppose it, 
and some of the members having received no instructions on 
this important step. After a short delay, all the colonies 
coincided with the measure, excepting Pennsylvania and 
Delaware. 

The sub-committee appointed by Congress to prepare a 
declaration of independence, were John Adams, of Massachu- 
setts, and Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia. The original draft 
was drawn up by the latter, adopted by the committee, and 
after several amendments it received the approbation of Con- 
gress, and the members severally affixed their signatures. On 
the 4th of Seventh month, (July,) 1776, it was proclaimed 
to the people from the state house in Philadelphia, and was 
received with demonstrations of joy. It was immediately for- 
warded to the different provinces, and was every where re- 
ceived with acclamations. 

This important state paper commences as follows : 

*' When, in the course of human events, it becomes neces- 
sary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have 
connected them with another, and to assume among the powers 
of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws 



m 



HISIORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Declaration of Independence. 



1776 of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect 
to the opinions of mankind, requires that they should declare 
the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold 
these truths to be self-evident : — that all men are created 
equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain 
unalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty and the 
pursuit of happiness ; that to secure these rights, governments 
are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the 
consent of the governed ; that whenever any form of govern- 
ment becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the 
people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new govern- 
ment, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing 
its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to 
effect their safety and happiness. Prudence indeed will dictate 
that governments long established, should not be changed for 
light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience 
hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while 
evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the 
forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train 
of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same 
object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute des- 
potism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such 
government, and to provide new guards for their future secu- 
rity. Such has been the patient suffering of these colonies ; 
and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter 
their former systems of government. The history of the pres- 
ent king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries 
and usurpations, all having in direct object, the establishment 
of an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, let 
facts be submitted to a candid world." 

The document then proceeds to enumerate the various 
grievances to which the people of this country had been sub- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 229 

Declaration of Independence. 

jected, making a list of twenty-seven ; alludes to the various 
petitions for redress, which had been presented, and concludes 
with the following language : 

" We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States 
of xVmerica, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the 
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our inten- 
tions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good peo- 
ple of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare. That these 
United Colonies are, and of ri2:ht ouo;ht to be, Free and In- 
dependent States ; that they are absolved from all allegiance 
to the British crown, and that all political connection between 
them and the state of Great Britain, is, and ought to be, 
totally dissolved ; and that as free and independent States, 
they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract al- 
liances, establish commerce and to do all other acts and things 
which independent States may of right do. And for the sup- 
port of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protcctioa 
of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our 
lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor." 



20 



CHAPTER XXIL 

CONTINUATION OF THE WAR. 



Movements around New York. 



1776 One object of the British force in America, remained still 
unattempted, — the possession of New York; and that was 
now the place of rendezvous. Washington had early antici- 
pated that the strength of the British would be directed in this 
quarter, as the advantages of its position would render its ac- 
quisition of great importance. During the spring and sum- 
mer, therefore, he was endeavoring to increase the means of 
its defence; additional fortifications were raised, and every 
preparation was made to resist an attack. The men under his 
command amounted to fourteen thousand ; but many of these 
were illy supplied with implements of war. As the point 
of attack could not be known, a part of the force was stationed 
at Brooklyn, small detachments were posted at various other 
places, and the remainder in the city. 

Early in Seventh month, (July,) Admiral Howe and 
his brother, General Howe, to whom had been given the 
command of the Britjsh, arrived in the harbor of New York, 
accompanied by a powerful naval force, and by an army of 
twenty-four thousand men. The troops landed without 
opposition on Staten Island. 

Previously to commencing operations, Admiral Howe sent 
a letter to the city, addressed to " G-eorge Washington, Esq.,'' 
which he refused to receive, as not being directed with the 
title of the situation which he held. Another letter was 
subsequently forwarded, addressed to " George Washington, 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 231 

Battle of Long Island. 

etc., etc., etc." This also was refused. A conference, 177^ 
however, ensued, in which the British general, who was the 
bearer of the communication, informed Washington, that 
Lord Howe * was entrusted with full power to receive the 
submission of the colonists. But as this appeared to consist 
only in the power to grant pardons, it was asserted that no 
forgiveness was required, where no crime had been committed, 
and both parties prepared for a resort to arms. 

Although the Declaration of Independence had given fresh 
courage to the American troops, yet so many were the dis- 
advantages under which they labored, that it required the 
greatest exertions of their commander to keep up their hopes ; 
the commerce of the country having been entirely stopped, 
and there being no existing revenue, all the difficulties could 
not be surmounted. Rewards were promised to those who 
should distinguish themselves by acts of bravery, and severe 
punishment was threatened to any who should desert." 

The British resolved first to dispossess the Americans 
of Long Island. Accordingly on the 22d of Eighth month 
(Aug.,) the army landed on the south shore of the Island, 
distant about four miles from the provincials near Brooklyn. 
A column of British troops and one of Hessians advanced 
from different directions. These were but feints to divert 
the attention of the Americans from an attack to be made in 
another quarter, by the main body of the army. 

Thus surrounded, a furious battle ensued ; but defeat was 
inevitable. Very many of the provincials were killed or 
wounded, and many made prisoners; while others forced 
their way through the British soldiers back to the camp at 
Brooklyn. While the destructive battle was going forward, 



* Admiral Howe. 



232 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Discouragement of the soldiers 

1776 Creneral Washington crossed from New York, and beheld 
with deep anxiety and distress the destruction of his troops. 
The American loss, in killed, wounded and missing, has been 
variously estimated, from eleven hundred to thirty-three 
hundred ; while that of the British was less than four hundred. 
A retreat was now ordered, and was conducted with great 
silence and despatch, on the night of the 28th. The British^ 
although within a few hundred yards, knew nothing of the 
movements of the American army, until the troops, nine 
thousand in number, with their artillery, tents and luggage, 
had been conveyed across the river. 

Hitherto the American army had been so successful, ex- 
cepting in Canada, that the soldiers, having fully calculated 
on victory, were now proportionably disappointed ; and so 
disheartened were they, that they began to desert in great 
numbers. Unaccustomed to subordination, the restraints 
imposed on them were irksome ; and giving themselves up for 
lost, they wished to return to their families, and avoid the 
dangers to which they would be exposed during the remainder 
of their term of enlistment. AVashington and the other 
leaders were very earnest in their endeavors to rouse them 
from this state of despair, and succeeded in persuading many 
to return ; but it became evident that additional inducements 
should be held out to the army. Accordingly Washington 
"Wrote freely to Congress, explaining the diflBculties of his 
situation, and finally induced them to offer a bounty of twenty 
dollars to all who would enlist during the war, with the 
promise of a grant of one hundred acres of land to every 
soldier, and more to the officers in proportion to their rank. 
Previously to engaging again in active hostilities, proposals 
for accommodation were once more made by Admiral Howe, 
and a conference took place. It availed nothing, as the 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 233 

Americans retreat from New York. Battle of White Plains. 

deputies were not acknowledged as the commissioners of 1776 
a free people, and on no other condition would they treat with 
the Admiral. It however afforded Washington a little time 
to revive the drooping spirits of his soldiers. 

The object of the British general was, to bring the Amer- 
cans to a decided action, and terminate the war, if possible, 
by a single blow ; but Washington, knowing full well what 
would be the consequences of such a step, determined to 
avoid a general engagement, and to harass the English by 
continual skirmishes, in which the personal bravery of his 
troops might be more than equivalent to the regular disci- 
pline of the British army. He hoped also to cut off their sup- 
plies and weary their patience. Accordingly, the army was 
divided between New York, Harlem and King's Bridge. 
The royalists now landed on the New York side of the river, 
and marching to the city, the Americans were obliged to re- 
treat to King's Bridge, leaving many of their military stores 
in the hands of their opponents. 

Washington's plan in part succeeded. The Americans 
gained some advantages, which had the effect of reanimating 
the troops. They were, however, soon obliged to leave New 
York Island altogether, and retreat still farther into the coun- 
try, leaving detachments for the defence of Forts Washington 
and Lee, in order to retain the command of the Hudson river. 
Nearly three thousand men were assigned to the former place. 
About this time, almost one-fourth part of New York was 
consumed by fire. 

The American commander, by frequent changes of position, 
continued to baffle the designs of the British general, in 
bringing about a general engagement. A severe battle, how- 
ever, took place, at White Plains, between a part of the forces, 
in which several hundreds fell, the loss being nearly equal on 

iDOth sides. 

20* 



234 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Discouraging state of affairs. Retreat through New Jersey. 

1776 Howe now determined to relinquish the pursuit of the 

American army, and turn his attention to the reduction of 
Forts Washington and Lee, the former situated near King's 
Bridge, the latter nearly opposite, on the other side of the 
river. Comhined and vigorous effort was at length success- 
ful in reducing Fort Washington. The ammunition was nearly 
exhausted, when a capitulation was made. The loss of the 
British was supposed to be about twelve hundred, and the 
reduction of the fort was a severe blow to the Americans. 

Fort Lee soon afterward fell into the hands of the British, 
the garrison having previously effected their escape, and 
joined the army, which had commenced a retreat through New 
Jersey ; and with this addition now consisted of only about 
three thousand men, who were but scantily armed, poorly 
clothed, and almost destitute of tents, blankets and cooking 
utensils. 

Encouraged by success, Howe now resolved to pursue the 
Americans, and endeavor to break up the army which he 
knew to be much weakened by the loss of those soldiers who 
were entitled to a discharge. He offered pardon to all who 
would lay down their arms and take the oath of allegiance 
within sixty days. This induced many who were despairing 
of success, to join the British standard, and the retreating and 
suffering army became still weaker. In this depressing state 
of affairs, Washington called on the militia of New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania to join them, but they responded not, and with- 
held all aid from an army whose existence seemed nearly 
terminated. 

Lord Cornwallis, at the head of six thousand well-disci- 
plined, well-furnished troops, was so close behind Washington, 
that the rear of the American army, destroying bridges over 
which they had passed, was frequently within shot of the van 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 235 

Position of ttie British army. Commissioners sent to Europe. 

of the British. Passing through Trenton, the Americans 1776 
crossed to the western side of the Delaware ; while General 
Howe, with twenty-seven thousand men, lay encamped in New 
Jersey. Considering the Americans as almost vanquished, 
he was intending to remain quiet during the severity of the 
winter, with the exception of taking possession of Philadel- 
phia, when the Delaware should be frozen over, and lay 
encamped in New Jersey, without entertaining any apprehen- 
sions of an attack. He stationed fifteen hundred Hessians at 
Princeton, some hundreds at Bordentown and Mount Holly, 
while the remainder of his troops were spread over the country, 
from New Brunswick to the neighborhood of Philadelphia. 

As the British army approached the seat of government, 
Congress adjourned to Baltimore, where they increased the 
authority of Washington, giving him almost unlimited powers, 
in relation to the war, for six months, unless sooner deter- 
mined by their own body. They also addressed the several 
colonies, endeavoring to excite their feelings in behalf of the 
cause in which the country had engaged, recommended a day 
of solemn fasting and humiliation, and resolved on sending 
commissioners to several of the courts in Europe, to endeavor 
to prevent more foreign troops being sent to America, and 
also to induce the king of France to aid the cause of liberty, 
by attacking the British possessions in Europe or the West 
Indies, promising him in return the right of fishing off New- 
foundland. 

During this year, many Americans who had been taken 
prisoners, were conveyed to New York and confined in British 
prison ships, where their sufferings were intense from the 
want of fire and suitable clothing, during the inclemency of a 
severe winter ; as well as from scarcity of food and other 
causes. Large numbers of them died in captivity, rather 



236 HISTORY OP TUE UNITED STATES. 

Battle of Trenton. 

1776 than accept the offers of pardon which were made them, if 
they would join the royal party. Washington remonstrated 
against this inhuman treatment, and after his victories in New 
Jersey, an exchange was agreed on. Some who were living 
when the vessels arrived, which had been sent to convey them 
away, were reduced to such an extent, that they expired in 
the streets, on attempting to leave their place of confinement. 
The sufferings of these poor creatures were doubtless in- 
creased by inexcusable neglect of the British authorities ; yet 
they were, in great measure, but a natural consequence of the 
circumstances. The party feeling and excitement of war but 
too often preclude attention to prisoners, and the relation of 
their history would make a sad addition to the horrors of such 
times. 

While the affairs of the American army were in this de- 
pressed and discouraging condition, the British took posses- 
sion of Rhode Island, almost without resistance. But Wasli- 
ington, not disheartened, obtained information of the position 
of the British army, and on learning its scattered situation, 
immediately planned an attack on the Hessians at Trenton. 
Three divisions were to cross the Delaware at different points, 
at Bristol, Trenton and nine miles further up the river. The 
two former were prevented by the ice from effecting a landing ; 
the latter, commanded by Washington in person, accomplished 
the object in view with great difficulty, and commenced a 
march toward Trenton at about four in the morning of 
Twelfth month, (Dec.,) 25th, in two divisions, by different 
roads. After four hours' exposure, during a fall of snow, the 
weather intensely cold, both parties reached the Hessians 
within a few minutes of each other, and commenced a vigor- 
ous attack. Not the slightest suspicion of the approach of 
the Americans had been awakened. The commander imme- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 237 

Movements of the armies. 

diately prepared for defence, but soon received a mortal 1776 
wound. The Hes.sians were obliged to surrender ; one thou- 
sand were taken prisoners, but few of them were killed. The 
next day, Washington recrossed the Delaware, with his prison- 
ers and their artillery, having lost but four of his men, two 
of whom had been frozen to death. Four or five men were 
also wounded. 

This successful enterprise of the Americans excited the as- 
tonishment of the British. They had considered resistance 
as almost over, and Lord Cornwallis having left the command 
of the army to subordinatcKofiicers, was in New York, about 
sailing for England with the information of the probable con- 
clusion of the war. He now immediately returned to New 
Jersey to commence active operations, although in mid-winter. 

The hopes of the Americans revived, and considerable 
numbers of the militia again joined Washington. In New 
Jersey, a spirit of revenge had been excited by the rapacious 
and oppressive conduct of the British soldiers, and without 
joining the army, the inhabitants formed themselves into bands, 
ever on the watch for an opportunity to surprise a foraging 
party of the enemy. In this way the British were often 
obliged to retreat, sometimes carrying with them their dead as 
well as wouuded, that their opponents might not know their 
loss. 

At the head of five thousand men, Washington again 1777 
crossed the Delaware, on the first day of the new year, and 
marched to Trenton, where Cornwallis determined to attack 
him, and pressed forward with great expedition. Washington 
immediately stationed his men on some high ground, beyond 
a small creek which the British were unable to cross, and 
both parties kept up a firing until dark. The American com- 
mander now determined, instead of waiting for an attack the 



238 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Washington at Morristown. 

1777 next morning, to make a cireuitious march to Princeton, and 
surprise the British there. He ordered the fires to be kept 
burning till daylight^ placed guards at the fords, and sentinels 
at advanced posts, and then commenced his march. On the 
road, he met and overcame a detachment who were hastening 
to join Cornwallis. At Princeton, one regiment of British 
had been left ; three hundred of these were taken prisoners, 
the rest escaped. 

Meanwhile, Cornwallis, perceiving what had occurred, 
started in pursuit, and came up with the rear of the Ameri- 
cans on the Morristown road. Some firinsr ensued, but the 
progress of the British was intercepted by the breaking down 
of a bridge at Kingston. Washington now fixed his head- 
quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, and the British hastily 
retreated to New Brunswick, both parties being worn, and 
weary of suffering and hardship. 

Washington, however, wished to pursue the advantages he 
had gained. From Morristown his troops made expeditions 
in different parts of the State, and by a series of movements 
annoying to the English, they were deprived of all their 
conquests excepting Amboy and New Brunswick. Their 
advanced posts were frequently cut off, and by a desultory 
mode of warfare, the British found their numbers continually 
decreasing. The sufferings of the Americans from the want 
of sufiicient clothing were great ; many of them were without 
shoes, and in marching stained the frozen ground with their 
blood. It has been thought that if Cornwallis had been 
aware of the small number under Washington's command, 
nothing would have prevented him from attacking the army 
and dispersing it ; and it is said, that while at Morristown, so 
feeble was the condition of Washington's men, that sometimes 
he could not muster more than three or four hundred, although 
his whole force amounted to fifteen hundred. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 239 

Destruction of stores. 

Early in the spring, while the British army remained at 1777 
New Brunswick, two excursions were made for the destruction 
of American stores. Washington had given orders that these 
should not be allowed to accumulate in places accessible to 
the enemy's shipping. Notwithstanding such directions, a 
considerable quantity had been deposited at Peekskill, and was 
now attacked by the British, who had been conveyed up the 
river in armed vessels. The Americans hearing of their 
approach, set fire to the buildings and retreated. 

A large quantity of provisions was also destroyed at 
Banbury, in Connecticut. On the return of the forces 
employed in this object, they were attacked by a company of 
American troops, and lost four hundred men. killed, wounded 
and prisoners. The stores destroyed in these expeditions, 
were a serious loss to the Americans during the ensuing 
season. 

Meanwhile, the British at New Brunswick were not quiet. 
A regiment of five hundred Americans was stationed within 
seven miles. These, Cornwallis determined to attack, and 
although they were watching against surprises, the British 
advanced undiscovered. The Americans were soon nearly 
surrounded, and the commander found that he must either 
submit to a capture or make his escape between two columns 
of his opponents. Choosing to attempt the latter, they suc- 
ceeded, with the loss of sixty, killed, wounded and prisoners. 

These acts of the British produced a spirit of retaliation in 
the Americans. Having learned that a large supply of stores 
had been collected by the British at Sagg Harbor, on Long 
Island, a party was sent for their destruction, who succeeded 
in burning the stores, with twelve vessels. Six lives were 
destroyed, and ninety men taken prisoners, without the loss of 
any of the Americans. 



240 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Gen. Howe sails for the South. 

1777 In a predatory excursion of the provincial militia, General 
Prescott, stationed on Rhode Island, was seized while in bed, 
and taken prisoner. This led to the exchange of General 
Lee, an oflBcer much regretted by the Americans, who had 
been taken prisoner the previous year, and whom General 
Howe had hitherto refused to exchange. 

The season was quite advanced before the British army 
made any decided movement. Having received a supply of 
tents and other conveniences, as well as additional troops, on 
the 13th of Sixth month, (June,) General Howe passed into 
New Jersey with thirty thousand men. Washington had also 
been reinforced by recruits from various quarters, some of 
whom were supplied with arms from France, which had been 
privately obtained. His army, however, did not number 
quite eight thousand men, and having left Morristown, he 
advanced to a good position at Middlebrook, about nine miles 
from New Brunswick. Howe now endeavored in various 
ways to draw Washington from this situation, and engage 
him in a general battle. For this purpose he advanced 
toward the Delaware ; but not succeeding, the army returned, 
committing great destruction in its course. Farm houses 
were burned, public buildings ruined or defaced, not excepting 
places of worship, while the inhabitants were unkindly or 
cruelly treated. 

Although detachments of the armies had met, and some 
loss had been sustaind on both sides, yet being unable to 
bring about a general engagement, Howe finally crossed to 
Staten Island, and embarking sixteen thousand troops, sailed 
for the south on the 25th of Seventh month (July.) The 
remainder of the army was left for the defence of New York 
under General Clinton. 

As yet> no terms of agreement existed between the several 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 241 

Articles of Confederation. 

colonies. Having now formed some bond of union by the 1777 
Declaration of Independence, it became necessary that 
further steps should be taken. Accordingly, a committee 
was appointed to bring forward the form of a confederation. 
They reported a plan, which was considered, referred to a 
committee, and after full and free discussion, was finally 
adopted in the autumn of 1777, and approved by the several 
State legislatures. 

The thirteen colonies were thus formed into a confederacy, 
with the title of "The United States of America," and by 
the articles of confederation were bound to each other for the 
security of their liberties, and for mutual defence in all attacks 
on account of their religion, trade or any other pretence. 
Each State was to retain its sovereignty and every right not 
expressly surrendered to the United States. The powers of 
Congress were defined by the Articles of Confederation, as well 
as the rights of the several States ; and these articles remained 
in force until the adoption of the Constitution in 1788. 

The only means which Congress at this time possessed of 
defraying the expenses of the war, was by the emission of 
bills of credit to be redeemed at a subsequent period. These 
soon became greatly depreciated in consequence of a want of 
confidence in the government. Much distress ensued, and 
many families were involved in ruin. An attempt to sustain 
the value by altering the price of commodities, proved of no 
avail, and introduced much confusion. 

It was not long before Congress agreed on a national flag. 
Thirteen stripes were to represent the thirteen States, and the 
same number of white stars, surrounded by blue, a new con- 
stellation. They also made known their determination to 
listen to no terms of peace, which required the sacrifice of 
the independence of the country. 

21 



24^ HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



General La Fayette. 



1777 The commissioners who had been sent to the court of 
France, were instructed to solicit a loan of money, a supply 
of munitions of war and an acknowledgment of the indepen- 
dence of the United States. They were well received at 
Paris. Dr. Franklin, one of the commissioners, was already 
known as a philosopher and statesman, and the cause of liberty 
met with much sympathy in France. Yet an acknowledgment 
of independence could not at this time be obtained, nor any 
open support of the cause. The ministry, however, permitted 
arms, privately taken from the public arsenals, to be conveyed 
to the United States, and connived at the sale in their West 
India Islands, and in the ports of France, of prizes taken by 
American privateers. 

Sympathy for our countrymen in the struggle for liberty 
in which they were engaged, had taken such deep hold of the 
mind of the Marquis de La Fayette, one of the first noblemen 
in France, then only nineteen years of age, that he resolved 
to devote his energies to the cause of freedom in America, and 
communicated his design to the commissioners. Not deterred 
by the unfavorable accounts of the campaign of 1776, which 
so destroyed the credit of the commissioners that they were 
unable to procure a vessel for his passage, he prosecuted his 
design, purchased and fitted out que for himself, and arrived 
in Charleston in the spring of 1777. 

By the laws of France, La Fayette, in so doing, hazarded 
his large fortune. His sovereign had forbidden his proceed- 
ing, and despatched vessels to the West Indies, with orders to 
arrest and detain him, if found there. He, however, avoided 
those islands, and reaching America safely, was warmly 
received and appointed major general in the army. The 
example of La Fayette was afterward followed by many other 
French officers. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 243 

Battle of the Brandy wine. 

It has already been stated, that General Howe, being foiled 
in his attempts to bring Washington to a fixed battle, em- 1777 
barked his troops, on the 5th of Seventh month, (July.) Leav- 
ing Staten Island, they sailed south, their point of destination 
being carefully concealed. It soon became evident, however, 
that General Howe was planning an attack on Philadelphia. 
Having ascertained, on arriving off the capes of the Delaware, 
that the Americans had obstructed the navigation of that river, 
he proceeded further south, entered the Chesapeake and 
landed his troops at the head of Elk river, fifty miles south- 
west of Philadelphia. 

Washington, desirous of preventing the approach of the 
British to Philadelphia, immediately marched toward that 
city. The people, impatient of delay, demanded that a general 
engagement should be hazarded for the defence of the place. 
Yielding to their wishes, Washington took a position on 
Brandy wine creek, Ninth month, (Sept.) 11th. His men 
numbered eleven thousand. The British army, consisting 
of sixteen thousand men, advanced and commenced an attack 
on one division of the Americans, which was soon broken, and 
fled in confusion. A reserve corps arrested the progress of 
the British, who had commenced a pursuit. The battle was 
renewed. It was severe, and continued throughout the day, 
until the Americans could not be rallied, when a retreat 
became general. At Chester, they halted for the night, and 
then proceeded to Philadelphia, many of the men marching 
without shoes, and sleeping on the ground without blankets. 
The exhaustion of the British troops prevented their pursuing 
the defeated army. 

Three hundred Americans were killed in the disastrous en- 
gagement of the Brandywine, besides six hundred wounded 
or taken prisoners. The loss of the British was about half 



244 



HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



The British enter Philadelphia. 



1777 as great. General La Fayette first served in this battle, as 
"well as Count Pulaski, a native of Poland. 

The situation of Washington's forces prevented him from 
long impeding the advance of the British. After spending 
two days in Philadelphia, collecting his scattered troops and 
replacing his stores, he marched up the Schuylkill, leaving 
the British in possession of the roads to the city. 

Congress having resumed its sittings in Philadelphia, was 
again compelled to leave, and removed first to Lancaster, and 
afterward to York. The British army crossed the Schuylkill, 
north of the city, on the 23d of Ninth month, (Sept.) and 
encamped at Germantown ; and on the 26th, Cornwallis took 
peaceable possession of Philadelphia. 

The next object of the British was to remove the chevaux- 
de-frise and other obstructions to the navigation of the Dela- 
ware, which prevented their fleet from ascending the river. 
The force at Germantown being consequently weakened, 
Washington determined to surprise them, and having marched 
through the night, commenced an attack on the 4th of Tenth 
month, (Oct.) An advanced guard was obliged to retreat; 
but the British soon recovered from the effects of the surprise, 
and a thick fog concealing the position of the parties, occa- 
sioned mistakes. The Americans were finally obliged to re- 
treat, and lost in the engagement two hundred men killed, 
besides three hundred wounded, and about four hundred 
made prisoners. The loss of the British, in killed and wound- 
ed was six hundred men. 

Admiral Howe, having received information of the result 
of the battle of the Brandywine, had left the Chesapeake, and 
sailed for the Delaware. To open a free communication with 
the fleet was now the object of General Howe. A little below 
the place where the Schuylkill flows into the Delaware, three 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 245 

Obtain possession of the Delaware. 

rows of chevaux-de-frise had been sunk across the channel, 1777 
formed of large beams of timber with iron spikes. These 
were guarded by floating batteries and fortifications at Ked 
Bank, on the New Jersey side of the river, and by Fort Mif- 
flin, on Mud Island. 

An attempt made by two thousand Hessians to reduce the 
fort at Red Bank was ineffectual. They were repulsed with 
great loss, and two of the ships which joined in the attack 
were grounded. The Americans, perceiving the situation of 
these vessels, fired on them, and also sent fire ships against 
them. One of them caught fire, and the flames spread so 
rapidly, that it was with great difficulty that any of the crew 
could escape ; two of the officers and some of the men 
perished. The crew of the other vessel set fire to it and 
abandoned it. 

Preparations were still going forward for the reduction of 
Fort Mifflin. Batteries were erected on the Pennsylvania 
side of the river opposite Mud Island. Much time was con- 
sumed in their construction, as well as in transporting the artil- 
lery over the swampy ground. The garrison also at the fort 
had exerted themselves to retard the operations of the British ; 
but, the works being completed, a terrible cannonade was 
commenced, which was returned by the Americans from the 
fort, the floating batteries and the works on the New Jersey 
side of the river. In the course of the day, the walls of the 
fort were mostly destroyed ; the garrison escaped during the 
night to Red Bank, which two days afterward was also 
evacuated. 

The American shipping in the river was now left entirely 
unprotected. Some of it, by keeping on the east side, passed 
the batteries at Philadelphia, during the night, and escaped 
up the stream ; the rest was set on fire and abandoned. A 

21' 



246 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Washington at Valley Forge. General Burgoyne. 

1777 free communication between the British sea and land forces 
■was thus obtained, but a great part of the season had been 
consumed, many lives lost, and a vast amount of property 
destroyed. Soon afterward both parties retired to winter 
quarters; General Howe to Philadelphia, and Washington to 
Valley Forge, about twenty-six miles distant, where the army 
endeavored to shield themselves from the weather, though 
poorly clothed and to a great extent destitute of tents or 
blankets. 

During the occurrence of these proceedings in the middle 
section of the country, a plan was formed by the British 
ministry, for penetrating the United States from the north. 
They were very anxious to possess themselves of the country 
extending from Canada to the city of New York. This 
would cut off the direct communication between New Ens:- 
land and the Southern States, and by dividing the provincial 
forces would render their subjugation more easy. The co- 
operation of several Indian tribes was secured, seven thou- 
sand well-disciplined, well-furnished troops -were allotted to 
the service, and the command was given to General Burgoyne. 
This powerful army marching from Montreal was to penetrate 
the State of New York and advance toward the Hudson. 

On the 2d of Seventh month, (July,) the British army en- 
camped near Ticonderoga. To that strong fortress the Amer- 
icans had retreated after the invasion of Canada, and Gene- 
ral St. Clair was now stationed there with about six thousand 
men. Being entirely unable to compete with so powerful an 
army, and wishing to avoid surrendering his men prisoners of 
war, he retreated toward Lake George with great rapidity. 
A considerable part of the stores was sent up the stream, 
which connects the two lakes. These vessels were attacked 
by the English, and either wholly or partially destroyed, and 



TUE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 247 

Americans retreat. They are reinforced. 

the provisions and military Stores lost. A body of provincials, 1777 
forming the rear of the army, who had halted on account of 
fatigue, was defeated by German soldiers under charge of Gen- 
eral Reidesel. In the engagement, four hundred Americans 
were either killed or made prisoners, and about five hundred 
wounded ; upwards of one hundred and seventy of the Brit- 
ish also were either killed or wounded. At length the 
American army, by various routes, worn and exhausted, hav- 
ing suffered from the inclemency of the weather and want 
of provisions, reached Fort Edward on the Hudson, where 
General Schuyler had established his head-quarters. 

The united forces of Generals Schuyler and St. Clair were 
about four thousand four hundred men. With these they 
could not meet the British army ; their energies, therefore, 
were directed toward impeding the advance of General Bur- 
goyne. Detachments of the men were ordered to obstruct 
the navigation of Wood creek, a small stream which runs 
into Lake Champlain at its head, to destroy bridges, and to 
fell trees so as to fall across the roads, particularly at places 
where another course could not be taken. All the horses 
and cattle which might be brought into requisition by the 
royalists were ordered out of the way, and the ammunition 
and stores were removed from Fort George. 

Exertions were also made by General Schuyler to strength- 
en his own army. Beinforcements of troops were solicited, 
and Washington sent them to his aid. General Lincoln 
was appointed to raise and command the militia of New 
England ; and tents, military stores and provisions were 
supplied. 

General Burgoyne had been obliged to halt, to give some 
rest to his troops, who were exhausted from the fatigues of 
the march, as well as to re-organize his army, which had been 



248 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The British encamp near Saratoga. 

1777 thrown into some disorder, and to make the necessary prepa- 
rations for advancing toward Albany. On proceeding up 
Wood creek, much time and labor were employed in remov- 
ing the impediments placed in the channel by the Americans. 
The roads were afterward to be cleared, and bridges con- 
structed. All obstacles being overcome, the army reached 
Fort Edward, which had been evacuated by the Americans 
a short time previously ; General Schuyler having retreated 
to Saratoga. 

At Fort Edward, Burgoyne was again obliged to halt. 
The army had been disappointed of receiving horses which 
had been ordered from Canada, and General Schuyler having 
removed all that could be brought into use by the British, 
they were in great difficulty to know how to transport the 
provisions and military stores from Fort George. Although 
that place was only a few miles distant, yet the roads had 
been so much injured by recent heavy rains, that notwith- 
standing the utmost exertions of General Burgoyne, at the 
expiration of two weeks, the army had only transported pro- 
visions for four days in advance, and conveyed twelve boats 
into the Hudson. 

The difficulty of procuring supplies from this quarter in- 
duced General Burgoyne to conceive the design of surprising 
Bennington, where a large quantity of provisions, as well as 
carriages, had been deposited. With this view, he moved 
down the east side of the Hudson and encamped nearly op- 
posite Saratoga, which place General Schuyler had left a 
short time previously, and retreated to the mouth of the 
Mohawk. 

Burgoyne now despatched Colonel Baum, with five hun- 
dred Hessian soldiers and one hundred Indians, to attack 
Bennington. General Stark, with four hundred of the New 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 249 

Defeated at Bennington. 

Hampshire militia, was at that time in the immediate vicinity, 1777 
on his way to join General Schuyler. Hearing of the 
approach of the hostile party, he called on the militia of the 
neighborhood to join him, and prepare for battle. Baum, 
learning that their numbers were superior to his own, had 
halted in an advantageous situation, and sent back for rein- 
forcements. 

Several skirmishes between smaller detachments having 
occurred, in which the militia were successful, a council of 
war was held, and an attack on the whole force sent against 
the place, determined. On the 16th of Eighth month, (Aug.) 
a furious battle occurred, which lasted nearly two hours. 
The British commander was mortally wounded ; a few of his 
troops escaped into the woods, the remainder were either 
killed or taken prisoners. 

After the action terminated, the militia had dispersed in 
search of spoil ; when a reinforcement arrived, which had 
been sent to Baum. They immediately commenced an 
attack on the scattered militia. Just at that time, however, 
a continental regiment arrived, and by their assistance the 
British were obliged to retreat. 

The victory at Bennington once more encouraged the 
Americans to renewed activity and zeal. They now hoped 
to frustrate Burgoyne's plans, and prevent his joining Gen- 
eral Clinton at New York. 

About this time, also, information was received that the 
British forces had been unsuccessful in an attempt to take 
Fort Schuyler, situated near the source of the Mohawk. 
Before reaching Crown Point, Burgoyne had sent a detach- 
ment of about eight hundred regular troops, and nearly as 
many Indians, under Colonel St. Lcger, to make an attack on 
this fort, and afterward join him on his march to Albany. 



250 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Siege of Fort Schuyler. 

1777 The party reached Fort Schuyler on the 2d of Eighth month, 
(Aug.) and on the refusal of the garrison to surrender, 
commenced a siege of the place. 

On the approach of the British, Greneral Herkimer assem- 
bled about seven hundred of the militia of the neighborhood, 
intending to advance to the relief of the garrison. St. Leger, 
having been informed of this intention, laid an ambuscade of 
regulars and Indians, who sent a heavy discharge of mus- 
ketry on the astonished militia. The Indians immediately 
sounded the war-whoop, and commenced an attack with their 
tomahawks. In the confusion which followed, the royal 
troops and militia became closely crowded together, and 
being prevented from destroying one another in the usual 
way, many on both sides fell, pierced by the daggers of their 
opponents. Greneral Herkimer and about four hundred of 
his men were killed. About the same time Colonel Willet, 
with two hundred men, made a sortie, killed a number of the 
British, destroyed their provisions, and carrying off some 
spoil, returned to the fort. 

Gansevoort, the commander, having succeeded in sending 
information of the situation of the garrison to General Schuy- 
ler, he immediately despatched Arnold with a body of troops to 
their assistance. The numbers of the British and their allies 
being superior to those of Arnold, he had recourse to stratagem, 
and offered to a person who had been arrested as a spy, that 
he should be liberated, and his estates restored to him, if he 
would faithfully execute a mission to alarm the British camp, 
especially the Indians, by representing the force which was 
proceeding against them as very large. He undertook the 
execution of the design, and the plan succeeded. The In- 
dians became alarmed, many of them sought safety in flight, 
the rest threatened to follow if the sieo-e were continued. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 251 

Jane McCrea. 

All the exertions and promises of St. Leger were not suf- 1777 
ficient to make them desist from their purpose ; he therefore 
broke up his encampment in great haste, leaving his tents, 
cannon and stores, which fell into the hands of the Ameri- 
cans. Two days afterward Arnold reached the fort ; 
but finding the besiegers had left, he returned to General 
Schuyler. 

At this period of the campaign, General Schuyler was 
superseded in the command of the northern army, by General 
Gates, who arrived on the 19th of Eighth month, (Aug.) 

The savage allies of the British could not always be kept 
under control. When Burgoyne with his army entered the 
United States, he had charged the Indians to commit no 
cruelties on those who made no resistance ; and for a 
while they attended to this injunction. But in the excite- 
ment of battle, their old habits of massacre and plunder 
sometimes gained the ascendency, and several persons fell 
victims to their brutality whose lives would otherwise have 
been preserved. The resentment of the Americans which 
was thus roused, probably more than counterbalanced any 
advantages which the British army may have gained by the 
assistance of their Indian allies. 

One circumstance particularly excited their indignation. 
An American loyalist, or Tory, an oflBcer in Burgoyne 's 
army, was engaged to be married to Jane McCrea, the 
daughter of an American clergyman, also a Tory. Fearing 
she might be subjected to some danger, the officer sent two 
Indian chiefs of different tribes, attached to Burgoyne's army, 
to the late residence of her deceased father, not many miles 
distant, promising a keg of rum to him who should deliver 
her safe to him. The young lady dressed herself in her 
bridal attire, and accompanied the Indians. On the way, 



252 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

The British encamp at Saratoga. 

1777 they disputed which of them should deliver her to the officer, 
and receive the promised reward. A struggle for the pos- 
session of the prize followed, in which, while one drew the 
trembling and affrighted girl to him, now imploring his 
protection, the other buried his tomahawk in her brain. The 
scalp was then taken off and carried to the officer, in her 
stead, whose arrival he was anxiously anticipating. 

Burgoyne, on receiving the intelligence, demanded the 
murderer, and threatened him with death ; he was, however, 
afterward pardoned. Intense feeling was excited among 
the Americans, and indignation against those who could 
employ such savage allies. But it is not the Indians alone, 
who commit acts of great atrocity ; war uncivilizes and 
unchristianizes man. What but murder would be the slay- 
ing of hundreds on the field of battle, if divested of the false 
halo of military glory ! 

Burgoyne did not yet despair of joining the British at 
New York, although surrounded with difficulties. The 
attack on Bennino;ton havina; failed, he was ao-ain obliged to 
have recourse to Fort George for provisions. By great and 
persevering exertions, a supply for thirty days was transport- 
ed ; and having constructed a bridge of boats over the Hud- 
son, in place of the rafts which had been carried away by a 
freshet, on the 13th and 14th of Ninth month, (Sept.) the 
whole army crossed the river, and on the 17th encamped on 
the heights and plain of Saratoga, within four miles of the 
American army. 

General Gates had been considerably reinforced, and leav- 
ing the position occupied by Schuyler at the confluence of 
the Hudson and Mohawk, he had advanced sixteen miles up 
the river to Stillwater. 

Burgoyne'e situation was now becoming more and more 



TEE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 253 

Battle of Stillwater. Critical situation of Burgoyne. 

critical. He feared the communication with Fort George 1777 
would be cut off, and resolved on a battle, as a victory would 
place it in his power to advance or return. About noon on 
the 19th, ail action commenced between certain portions of 
the armies, which were respectively reinforced, until the 
engagement became general. Both parties fought with 
determined resolution, and were alternately driven back. 
Men and officers were continually falling around them, until 
night put an end to the battle. The Americans retired to 
their canijD ; the British lay all night on their arms near the 
field. Three hundred and nineteen of the Americans were 
killed or wounded, and upwards of five hundred of the 
British. 

Each party claimed the victory, but Burgoyne did not 
obtain the advantages he had anticipated. His progress was 
arrested, his communication with the lakes cut off, and ho 
was consequently unable to obtain provisions. His men 
were on half allowance, and his horses were dying in great 
numbers. The Indians being restrained by Burgoyne from 
scalping and plundering the unarmed, withdrew from the 
British service. Many Tories and Canadians also forsook 
the standard. The strength of the Americans, on the other 
hand, was increasing by the arrival of recruits, and the 
resources of the country were open before them. 

The day after the engagement at Stillwater, intelligence 
was received which still further encouraged the Americans, 
and had a proportionably disheartening effect on the army of 
Burgoyne. General Lincoln, who had been sent to collect 
the militia of New England, had assembled two thousand, 
and resolved, before joining General Gates, to make an 
attempt to gain possession of some of the posts in the rear of 
the royal army. Accordingly, he sent three parties of five 



254 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Second battle of Stillwater. 

1777 hundred men each, who succeeded in taking all the stations 
excepting Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, and liber- 
ating one hundred American prisoners. Three hundred 
English prisoners were taken. Near the end of the month, 
General Lincoln joined the American array. 

In this situation Burgoyne made urgent applications to 
General Clinton at New York for aid, and informed him that 
in the expectation of receiving assistance, he would maintain 
his present position until the 12th of Oct. Having waited 
until the 7th without receiving any communication from 
Clinton, he determined to make another attack on the 
Americans. On that day another furious and bloody battle 
took place at Stillwater, commenced by an attack from one 
detachment of the British; but the whole of both armies 
soon became engaged, and the action continued until nearly 
night, when the British gave way. A large part of their 
artillery and ammunition had been taken, and nearly two 
hundred men made prisoners. General Wilkinson, in de- 
scribing this battle, states that after performing some service 
assigned him, he regained the ground from which the first 
detachment of the British had just retreated, leaving many 
men and several officers killed, wounded or captured, fifty- 
two minutes after the first shot had been fired. "In the 
square space of twelve or fifteen yards lay eighteen grena- 
diers in the agonies of death, and three officers propped up 
against stumps of trees, two of them mortally wounded, 
bleeding and almost speechless." He continues, " With the 
troops I pursued the hard-pressed and flying enemy, passing 
over killed and wounded." 

The Americans lay on their arms through the night, 
intending to renew the battle the next day. But Burgoyne, 
by a change of .position, extricated himself from the imme- 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 255 

Surrender of Burgoyne. 

diate danger with which he was threatened, and made some 1777 
attempts to induce Gates to attack him ; but the American 
general, knowing the difficulties to which Burgoyne was 
reduced, instead of engaging in another battle, sent strong 
detachments to guard the fords up the river, in order to 
prevent his retreat. 

In the evening of the 8th, the British general withdrew 
his forces and set off for Saratoga, leaving behind him three 
hundred sick and wounded men, and several boats loaded 
with provisions and baggage. It was evening of the next 
day when they arrived, after a fatiguing march over bad 
roads and through constant rain. Preparations were next 
made for retreating to Fort Edward, but the passes were 
found to be all strongly guarded. 

In this situation, a council of war was summoned. The 
British were now almost surrounded by the Americans, and 
their strength was much exhausted by incessant exertion. 
An account of provisions was taken, and a supply for three 
days only found to be on hand. By the advice of the coun- 
cil, a negotiation was opened with General Gates, and terms 
of capitulation were agreed on. The British troops were to 
surrender their arms ; they were to be permitted to embark 
for England or Germany, and were not to serve again in the 
war unless exchanged. On the 17th, the whole army 
surrendered prisoners of war, having been reduced from 
nine thousand to less than six thousand men. 

Burgoyne had strongly anticipated assistance from New 
York. General Clinton, however, felt that he cou^d not 
take the necessary troops without endangering that place, 
and therefore waited for reinforcements from England. 
These arrived near the end of Ninth month, (Sept.) and 
assistance might have been rendered in season, but that 



256 histohy op the united states. 

Its consequences. The effect in France. 

1777 Clinton imagined that by diverting the attention of Gates, 
Burgoyne would be able to extricate himself from the diffi- 
culties by which he was surrounded, and if the British could 
obtain command of the Hudson river, Burgoyne might then 
join the forces in New York. The forts on the river were 
therefore attacked, and after obtaining possession of these, a 
considerable time was consumed in removing the obstruc- 
tions which had been placed in the river. Before this could 
be accomplished Burgoyne surrendered. A detachment of 
the British received this information at Esopus, now Kings- 
ton. They immediately resolved to burn the town ; not a 
house was left standing. Another village was also destroyed, 
and the party returned to New York. 

In consequence of the capitulation at Saratoga, the British 
were prevented from retaining the forts on the lakes. They 
therefore left Ticonderoga, after destroying the works and 
throwing the artillery into the lake, and retired to Canada. 
The northern portion of the country was thus once more left 
in tranquillity, having experienced for several months the 
devastations of war. 

Information of the success of the American arms was re- 
ceived with great joy over the country, raising the hopes of 
the friends of Congress, and adding to their numbers. In 
France, its influence was also felt. That nation, although 
friendly to the cause of American independence, had never 
openly lent any assistance. It was a serious thing to involve 
herself in a war with Great Britain by taking part with her 
rebellious subjects, who it was supposed would soon be sub- 
jugated. But affairs now wore a difForent aspect, and the 
resistance of the colonies seemed likely to be crowned with 
ifltimate success. The American commissioners in Paris had 
continued to solicit the acknowledgment of the independence 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 257 

Treaty ■with France. Commissioners from England. 

of the country ; a proposed treaty had long been under 1777 
consideration, and from time to time deferred. The commis- 
sioners were at length informed that it was decided to ac- 
knowledge the independence of the country, and to enter 
into a treaty of amity and commerce. In the treaty, which 
was subsequently fully ratified, it was stipulated that, if war 
should break out between France and England, during the 
existence of that with the United States, the two countries 
should make common cause, and that neither of the parties 
should conclude peace, or a truce, without the consent of the 
other. They also mutually engaged not to lay down their 
arms until the independence of the United States should be 
fully acknowledged by England. 

The British Parliament was much occupied with discus- 
sions respecting the war. Various propositions were intro- 
duced ; and conciliatory measures were now adopted, granting 
to the colonies all that had been demanded previously to the 
commencement of hostilities. Several of the members advo- 
cated the recognition of American independence as the only 
means of avoiding a war with France. Fearful of the effect 
of the treaty with that country, commissioners were at once 
sent to America with copies of the plans of conciliation, 
before they had become laws. They were received by 
General Washington and the governors of some of the States, 
previously to their having any knowledge of the treaty with 
France ; but Congress concluded that the United States 
could not consistently treat with any commissioners from 
England, until the British fleets and armies had been with- 
drawn, or until the independence of the States had been 
expressly acknowledged. Bribery of some of the principal 
officers of the government was then tried, but without effect ; 
22* 



258 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Sufferings of the army at Valley Forge. 

1778 and after threatening a war of extermination, the commission- 
ers returned to Europe. 

A few days after the decision of Congress, Silas Deane, 
one of the commissioners to France, arrived with the treaties 
which had been made with that country. Congress was not 
now in session, but immediately assembled, and on the 4th 
of Fifth month, (May,) 1778, the treaties were unanimously 
ratified. The joy and gratitude of the nation at this intelli- 
gence were great in the extreme ; they now became more 
sanguine that their liberties would eventually be established, 
and felt in a measure reconciled to present hardships and 
calamities. Many royalists who had till this period taken 
part with Great Britain, now joined their countrymen. 

It has already been mentioned that the British army had 
retired to Philadelphia for winter quarters, and that Wash- 
ington had established himself at Valley Forge, about twenty- 
six miles from the city, where he was sufficiently near to 
annoy the British, and cut off their foraging parties, as well 
as to keep the posts near the city well guarded. Log huts, 
with the interstices filled with mud, erected fcr the occasion, 
formed comfortable habitations for troops that had been so 
much exposed to the inclemency of the weather. But they 
suffered extremely from the want of provisions and clothing. 
Their march from White Marsh to this place, with bare feet 
over rough and frozen roads, was marked with their blood. 
The winter was severe. The non-importation agreements 
had rendered clothing scarce at the commencement of the 
war ; importation in any quantities was now precluded ; and 
the home manufacture was not equal to the demand. The 
necessities of the army induced Congress to authorize the 
commander-in-chief to seize all provisions that could be found 
within seventy miles, either paying for them with money, or 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 259 

Intrigues agaiast Washington. 

certificates, for the redemption of which the United States 1X78 
were pledged. Sufficient confidence was not felt in the 
government to keep up the value of the continental scrip, 
as these certificates wcce termed ; and they were fast depre- 
ciating. 

It was with great reluctance that Washington availed 
himself of the liberty given him by Congress ; but the neces- 
sities of his men compelled him to it. He was illy provided 
with money, and could only pay for the provisions with 
scrip ; while the British were ready to give gold for articles 
furnished them. Many of the country people in the neigh- 
borhood were willing, under these circumstances, to convey 
their produce into the city ; but this was attended with much 
difficulty, and was often followed by detection and punish- 
ment. If the American patroles could intercept any party 
going into the city with provisions, they would seize them 
without offering payment of any kind. 

Although the strict integrity and disinterested patriotism 
of Washington had won for him great respect and esteem, 
yet there were those whose private ambition, rather than the 
welfare of their country, led to jealous feelings ; and a plan 
was laid to remove him from the chief command of the army. 
It did not however succeed ; nor did the knowledge of these 
intrio-ues induce Washino-ton to swerve from what he con- 
sidered his duty. Regardless of them, he continued his 
applications to Congress for the completion of arrangements 
for the ensuing season. By his recommendation, Baron 
Steuben, an officer in the Prussian army, who arrived in the 
United States in the course of the winter, was appointed 
inspector-general of the army. A system of discipline was 
by his efforts introduced among the hitherto raw troops, 
which, it is said, contributed much to the success of the 
American arms. 



CHAPTER XXIir 

CAMPAIGNS OF 1778 AND 1779. 



General La Fayette at Barren Hill. 



1778 The British in Philadelphia passed the winter in gayety 
and ease, until^ by the vigilance of the American patroles, 
they began to suffer for want of fresh provisions and for for- 
age. Their first efforts this year, were to procure some sup- 
plies of this kind for the army, in which they were sometimes 
successful ; destroying also in these excursions, merchandise 
and shipping. 

Intelligence of the treaty with France had now arrived, 
and it was suspected that the British troops would evacuate 
Philadelphia. To annoy the rear of the army, in case they 
should take this step, as well as to form an advanced guard 
of the Americans, in Fifth month, (May,) General La Fayette 
was sent forward with upwards of two thousand chosen men, 
and took post on Barren Hill, east of the Schuylkill, seven 
or eight miles in front of the army at Valley Forge. Howe, 
having received information of this movement, sent General 
Grant with five thousand of his best troops, to surprise him 
and cut off his return. Some of the militia patroles, having 
deserted their posts, the design was very nearly effected ; but, 
on the discovery being made. General La Fayette acted with 
so much promptitude and judgment, that he eluded the Brit- 
ish, and returned to the camp without loss. 

The French ambassador in London having by order of his 



CAMPAIGNS OF 1778 AND 1779. 261 

British evacuate Philadelphia. Battle of Monmouth. 

government given information of the treaties formed with the 1778 
United States, left the country; about the same time the Brit- 
ish ambassador left Paris. This was considered equivalent 
to a declaration of war. Apprehending that a French fleet 
would be sent to block up the British ships in the Delaware, 
orders were given to evacuate Philadelphia and concentrate 
the British forces in New York. 

Accordingly on the 18th of Sixth month, (June,) the 
royal army crossed the Delaware into New Jersey, under the 
command of General Clinton ; Howe having resigned his 
office, by permission of the king, and sailed for England. 
Washington immediately left his station and advanced in 
pursuit with the whole army, watching for an opportunity to 
give battle. General Lee, with five thousand men, was sent 
forward to commence an attack, unless there should be very 
strong reasons to prevent it. Perceiving the whole body re- 
turning to meet him, Lee retreated ; but on the arrival of 
Washington, he was sent back, and a warm engagement en- 
sued at Monmouth. Leo was compelled to retire. At this 
juncture, Washington came up and joined in the action until 
the British fell back. It was now almost night; the day 
had been warm, and the troops were exceedingly fatigued. 
Further operations were therefore suspended, and before 
morning, the British withdrew toward Sandy Hook. 

In this battle, the Americans lost, in killed and wounded, 
nearly three hundred men ; the British, after burying some 
of their dead in the night, left on the field nearly two hun- 
dred and fifty killed, and upwards of forty wounded, besides 
those who were able to be removed, and whom they had 
taken with them. The heat and extreme fatigues of the day 
had proved fatal to some on both sides, who expired without 
a wound. 



262 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Admiral D'Estaing at Newport. 

1778 After the battle of Monmouth, the British proceeded to 
New York "without further molestation. Washington marched 
to Westchester county in New York State, and took a posi- 
tion near his old camp at White Plains. Here he remained, 
watching the movements of the British till late in the autumn, 
when he removed to Middlebrook, New Jersey, for winter 
quarters. 

Not ten days after the British fleet left the Delaware, Ad- 
miral Count B' Estaing, with twelve French ships of the 
line and three frigates, arrived at the bay. Being informed 
that the British had left, he sailed for New York. On 
sounding at the entrance of the harbor, he found that his 
largest ships could not enter. By the advice of Washing- 
ton, he therefore sailed for Newport, to assist in the re- 
duction of that place, which had been in possession of the 
British about eighteen months. 

A combined attack by land and water was projected. 
General Sullivan, with about two thousand men, mostly mili- 
tia, was stationed at Providence ; and it was determined that 
he should cross to Khode Island and move toward New- 
port. On the 9th of Eighth month, (Aug.,) Admiral Howe^ 
with his fleet, appeared off the island, and D'Estaing im- 
mediately sailed out of the harbor to give him battle. An 
engagement was declined by Howe ; both parties put to sea 
and were soon out of sight. Having spent l;wo days in ma- 
noeuvring, the fleets were separated by a violent storm, in 
which both of them were so much damaged, that the British 
returned to New York ; and D'Estaing, having again arrived 
at Newport, announced his intention of going to Boston to 
refit. No arguments could induce him to remain ; and on 
the 22d, he set sail. 

Being deserted by the fleet, it was not thought prudent to 



CAMPAIGNS OP 1778 AND 1779. 263 

General Sullivan retreats. 

remain on the island, as large reinforcements of British 1778 
might easily be transported from New York. General Sulli- 
van therefore commenced a retreat in the night of the 28th, 
and was immediately pursued by the British on their making 
the discovery next morning of the march of the Americans. 
On the north end of the island, the Americans halted. Here 
they were met by the British, and a severe conflict ensued, 
which lasted about half an hour, when both parties withdrew. 
Their loss had been nearly equal. On the 30th, the two 
armies cannonaded each other, but neither ventured to attack 
the other. The British were expecting reinforcements ; and 
Sullivan, while deceiving them by an appearance of main- 
taining his post, was preparing to evacuate the island. In 
the night, the Americans succeeded in crossing the ferries 
and escaping to the continent, with all the artillery, baggage 
and stores. The next day, Clinton reached Newport with 
four thousand men ; a force which would have entirely pre- 
vented the retreat of the Americans^ had they arrived in 
season. They had been detained in the sound four days by 
adverse winds. 

In tracing the movements of the main bodies of the oppos- 
ing armies, it must not be supposed that the remainder of the 
people entirely escaped the devastating effects of war. The 
marauding parties were too numerous to mention, and private 
dwellings, mills and barns were often burned. If such steps 
would aid the cause in which a party was engaged, full lati- 
tude appeared to be given. Many lives were lost in skir- 
mishes. Numbers of privateers and small government vessels 
were fitted out, which captured many British vessels engaged 
in commerce ; while some were destroyed by the British 
ships. 

In the spring of this year, the Bandolph, an American 



264 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Destruction of the Randolph. Paul Jones. 

1778 frigate, commanded by Captain Biddle, having on board 
three hundred and five men, sailed from Charleston on a 
cruise, accompanied by four other vessels. The Randolph 
soon fell in with the Yarmouth, a British frigate, and fired 
the first broadside. About twenty minutes after the action 
commenced, the Randolph blew up, and all on board perished 
excepting four men, who floated on a piece of the wreck, 
■without any subsistence for four days but rain water, which 
they caught in a blanket. At the expiration of this period, 
they were rescued by the captain of the Yarmouth. 

Paul Jones, captain of one of the privateers, sailed around 
the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. He seized several Brit- 
ish vessels, and took two hundred prisoners. 

Some parts of the country suffered much from incursions 
of the Indians, aided by Tories who had fled for safety to 
the back settlements. At the commencement of the war, 
many of the Indian tribes seemed friendly to the United 
States ; but afterward the Americans became unable to pro- 
vide them with those articles of British manufacture to which 
they had latterly been accustomed, while the Briti>h in Canada 
liberally furnished them, and prevailed on them to take up 
arms against the United States. The frontier consequently 
became much exposed to their attacks. 

In the summer of this year, the beautiful district of Wyo- 
ming, situated on the east branch of the Susquehannah river, 
and containing nearly three thousand inhabitants, was made the 
scene of barbarities, from the contemplation of which, the 
mind recoils with horror. They strongly exhibit the cruelties 
of which men are capable, when the vindictive passions become 
excited and uncontrolled by the practice of war. 

The inhabitants of Wyoming, feeling the danger attendant 
on their romoto eituatloD, had constructed four forts, which 



CAMPAIGNS OF 1778 AND 1779. 265 

Massacre in Wyoming. 

were garrisoned with about four hundred and fifty men. In 1778 
the course of this summer, a body of sixteen hundred men, a 
large proportion of whom were Tories, disguised as Indians, 
approached the settlement. They soon gained possession of 
one of the smaller forts. The garrison were enticed out of it 
for the purpose of holding a conference, and then fell into an 
ambuscade, from which only a small portion escaped. 

The following day, one of the other forts was besieged. 
The commander wished to know what terms would be granted 
on surrendering. Learning that no mercy would be shown, 
the fort was defended until most of the men were either killed 
or wounded. It was then surrendered. Many of the in- 
habitants of the place had sought refuge in the fortress. A 
few of them were taken away as prisoners ; the remainder 
were shut up in the fort, which was then fired, and men, 
women and children perished in the flames. 

The other forts soon after fell into the hands of the furious 
assailants, and all show of resistance ceased. The whole dis- 
trict was laid waste ; buildings were burned with the occupants 
in them, and the work of destruction did not cease until 
regular troops Avere advancing to the spot. But very few of 
the inhabitants of the district escaped to the other settlements. 

In the latter part of this season, when active operations had 
ceased in the north, the attention of the British commander-in- 
chief became directed to the Southern States. Some royalists, 
who had left the southern provinces, and fled into Florida, 
had made destructive incursions into Georgia. One of the 
parties had burned the town of Midway, the dwelling houses 
on the roads through which they passed, had destroyed the 
grain, and carried off horses and cattle. 

An attempt to retaliate these incursions was made. A 
force of two thousand men was assembled; and proceeded to 
23 



266 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Operations in the South. 

1778 Florida for the reduction of St. Augustine; but disease car- 
ried off nearly one-fourth of the troops, and the remainder 
returned to Georgia. 

A plan had been projected by the British for obtaining 
possession of Georgia. Accordingly Colonel Campbell was 
sent from New York, with about two thousand five hundred 
men, and arriving off the mouth of the Savannah, proceeded 
up the river, and six days after, effected a landing on the 
29th of Twelfth month, (Dec.) 

For the defence of the place. General llobert Howe, with 
nearly nine hundred Americans, had taken an advantageous 
position about two miles below Savannah. Here he was sur- 
rounded by a marsh and the river, excepting in front ; and 
the approach in this quarter was well guarded. A negro, 
however, gave information to the British of a small path 
through the morass, which led to the rear of the American 
army. They were therefore attacked both in front and rear, 
and after fighting desperately, less than one-half effected an 
escape to South Carolina. About one hundred Americans 
were killed, and four hundred and fifty taken prisoners. The 
shipping in the river and a large quantity of provisions fell 
into the hands of the British, who soon after obtained the 
command of the whole province. 

1779 The scene of the war now became changed. Having planted 
their standard in the south, the British commanders resolved 
to approach the Middle States from this direction, at the com- 
mencement of the ensuing campaign, having gained nothing 
in the north during the preceding season. 

Early in the year. General Lincoln, having been appointed 
to the command of the southern army, established his head 
quarters at Purysburg, on the Savannah river, about thirty 
miles from its mouth. His force consisted of twenty-four 



CAMPAIGNS OP 1778 AND 1779. 267 

Conflicts between the Tories and militia. 

hundred men, a large portion of whom were undisciplined 1779 
militia, deficient in the usual equipments. 

The British, after making an unsuccessful attempt on the 
island of Port Royal, in which they lost many of their officers 
and a large number of private soldiers, resolved to establish 
themselves more firmly in Georgia, and to use endeavors to 
induce the Tories in South Carolina to take up arms in the 
royal cause. The principal posts of the British were at 
Augusta and Ebenezer, both on the Savannah ; while their 
emissaries were scattered among the Tory settlements in the 
upper parts of the State. Several hundred of the Tories as- 
sembled, and began a march toward Augusta. Among them 
was a body of unprincipled men, and their course was marked 
by plunder and atrocities. These excited the peaceful 
inhabitants to such a degree that Colonel Pickens collected 
about three hundred of the Whig militia to oppose them. 
The parties met and fought. The Tories were defeated and 
about forty of them killed. Some fled to North Carolina ; 
others surrendered themselves, and were tried for violating 
the sedition law. About seventy were condemned to die, 
but all were afterward pardoned excepting five leaders. 

With the view of circumscribing the limits of the Tories 
who were scattered over the country, and of repressing their 
incursions, a detachment of fifteen hundred militia was 
sent into Georgia. These were stationed on Briar creek, which 
empties into the Savannah, below Augusta. Here they were 
surprised by the British, who by a circuitous route came upon 
their rear. The militia were immediately thrown into confusion, 
and fled. One hundred and fifty were killed, still more were 
taken prisoners, and a few wore drowned in attempting to 
cross the Savannah. The greater part of those who escaped 
returned to their homes ; only about four hundred and fifty 
went back to the camp. 



268 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

General Lincoln in Georgia. 

1779 Lincoln was soon after reinforced, and resolved aoain to 
enter Georgia, in order to carry the war into the quarters of 
the British. With most of his forces, he crossed the Savannah, 
and marched toward the centre of the State. Prevost, the 
British commander, immediately seized the opportunity of 
attacking Charleston. Lincoln hastened back to its defence, 
when Prevost thought it expedient to retire, and withdrew 
his forces to some adjacent islands. Here he was attacked 
by Lincoln, who was repulsed, after an engagement of one 
hour and twenty minutes, with a loss, in that brief period, 
of more than one hundred and fifty men. A few days after- 
ward, the British re-commenced their retreat to Savannah, 
leaving a garrison at Beaufort, on the island of Port Koyal. 
The American militia mostly dispersed ; and Lincoln, with 
about eight hundred men, stationed himself at Sheldon, not 
far from Beaufort. The heat of a southern climate had put a 
stop to active operations for the present. 

Early in Ninth month, (Sept.,) Admiral D'Estaing 
appeared off the coast with the French fleet. At the close of 
the preceding season, he had sailed to the West Indies, where 
he had been engaged in hostilities with the British. The militia 
was soon collected, and the united armies agreed to besiege 
Savannah, in the hope of driving their opponents from the 
southern provinces. 

D'Estaing, who arrived first before Savannah, summoned 
the town to surrender, and allowed a cessation of hostilities 
for twenty-four hours, for the purpose of settling the terms of 
a capitulation. The British forces had been engaged day and 
night since the arrival of the French fleet, in strengthening 
the place, yet the works were incomplete, and the commander 
was desirous of gaining time. During the interval allowed, 
Colonel Maitland, by very great exertion, reached the place 



CAMPAIGNS OF 1778 AND 1779. 269 

Siege of Savannah 

with a reinforcement from Beaufort. Prevost now informed 1779 
D'Estaing that he would defend the place to the last extremity. 
Preparations were therefore made for besieging the town. 
Several days were consumed in bringing heavy artillery and 
stores from the vessels. All the arrangements being completed, 
the siege commenced. For some days the garrison was ex- 
posed to a fire from batteries consisting of thirty-three pieces 
of heavy cannon and nine mortars ; but the cannonade made 
little impression on the works. 

D'Estaing became anxious to return to the West Indies for 
the defence of the French Islands ; and findino; that a lono; 
time would be required to take the place in this way, he de- 
termined on an assault. The French and American forces 
advanced to the attack ; and after about one hour's severe 
fighting, they were driven from the works, and obliged to 
retreat. The loss sustained by the British was not great. Of 
the French, nearly seven hundred were killed or wounded, 
and upwards of two hundred of the Americans. Among the 
killed was Count Pulaski, a Polish ofiicer. 

As no hope remained of taking the town, the militia re- 
turned to their respective homes. General Lincoln retired to 
South Carolina, and D'Estaing, having re-embarked his troops, 
sailed for the West Indies. 

During these occurrences at the South, the British in the 
North made several predatory excursions, which were 
productive of distress and devastation. Having concerted a 
plan for interrupting the commerce of the Chesapeake, and 
destroying the magazines on its shores, the British general, 
Matthews, sailed from New York for this purpose with about 
two thousand men. Having arrived at Portsmouth in Vir- 
ginia, the troops landed and took possession of the town 
without opposition. Small parties were then sent to Norfolk 
23* 



270 UISTOllY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

General Washington at West Point. 

1779 and other places, where they seized many vessels, and took 
or destroyed a large quantity of provisions and military stores, 
burnin;^ magazines as well as some private residences. For 
two weeks, their course was marked by devastation and ruin. 
One hundred and thirty American vessels fell into the hands 
of these marauders, who, with their prizes and booty, returned 
to New York. 

By having command of the ocean and navigable rivers, 
the British were enabled to make sudden attacks on distant 
parts of the country, thus keeping the Americans in a constant 
state of alarm. They also interrupted the communication by 
sea, between the New England and other States. It was 
therefore considered a matter of great importance by Wash- 
ington, to preserve the communication as far down the Hudson 
as possible. He removed his head-quarters from Middlebrook 
to West Point. Fortifications were constructed on Stony 
Point, a high bluff on the west side of the river, a few miles 
below, and on Verplanck's Point, which projects into the 
river on the opposite side. Before the works were complete, 
Clinton sent detachments from New York, who succeeded in 
getting possession of both forts. The garrison at Fort La 
Fayette on Verplanck's Point were completely surrounded, 
their escape was cut off, and they were obliged to surrender 
themselves prisoners of war. 

Clinton made arranojements for completinG: the fortifications 
at both posts, garrisoned them, and finding that he could 
advance no further up the river, returned to New York. 

The British commander next determined to ravage the 
coast of Connecticut ; partly with the view of drawing General 
Washington from his strong position at West Point, for its 
defence. For this purpose, about twenty-six hundred troops, 
under command of General Tryon, formerly governor of the 



CAMPAIGNS OF 1778 AND 1779. 271 

Devastations of the British. Stony Point taken. 

province of New York, sailed from Throg's Neck, on the 177' 
East river, a few miles from the city of New York, and on the 
following day landed at East Haven. On the appearance of 
the fleet, the militia assembled in great numbers, but they 
could not prevent the British from effecting their ruinous 
designs. This town was burned, New Haven plundered, and 
the artillery and ammunition were either taken or destroyed. 
Fairfield and Norwalk were burned, after having been plun- 
dered of every thing of value, with abusive words to the 
citizens. This devastating work was accomplished in about 
ten days, when the British returned to New York. 

Washington felt himself obliged to keep his forces concen- 
trated, lest by dividing their strength, the different detachments 
should be severally overcome. His endeavor therefore was 
to resist any attack of the main body of the British army, and 
to guard the passes of the highlands. Having made himself 
acquainted with the state of the works at Stony Point, which 
had been taken from the Americans in the spring, he deter- 
mined to make an effort to surprise the garrison there. For 
this purpose he sent General Wayne with a detachment of 
troops. The road was exceedingly difficult, and the heat 
intense. Having secured every person on their way, whom 
they thought likely to give information of their approach, they 
succeeded in reaching Stony Point unobserved, about mid- 
night, and immediately commenced an attack. A determined 
resistance was made, but the fort soon fell into the hands of 
the assailants, and the garrison surrendered themselves 
prisoners of war. About twenty of the British had been 
killed, and seventy-four wounded. The Americans lost sixty- 
three killed, and forty wounded. 

Although the Americans had thus gained possession of 
Stony Point, General Washington did not think he could 



272 HISTORY OP the united states. 



Powles Hook surprised. Gen. Sullivan sent against the Indians. 



1 i 79 spare a sufficient number of men to garrison the place ; as it 
would require a large force, on account of its entire exposure 
to the British shipping in the river. He therefore abandoned 
it, after having destroyed a great part of the works. The fort 
was soon after repaired, and again occupied by the British. 

Being successful in this instance, Washington ventured 
further, and planned a surprise of the British post at Powles 
Hook, opposite New York. The command of the expedition 
was committed to Major Lee. He was ordered to surprise 
the garrison, to attempt the removal or destruction of the 
stores, and immediately to retire with as many prisoners as 
he could secure. 

Under cover of the night, they effected their design, and 
lost about six men, killed and wounded. They took one 
hundred and sixty prisoners, and killed in the affray about 
thirty of the British. 

In the following month, an unsuccessful attempt was made 
to drive the British from a fort which they had just erected 
at Penobscot, in Maine. The government at Boston were 
alarmed at this step, and resolved on an attempt to dispossess 
them. The fleet sent for the purpose was captured ; fifteen 
vessels were either blown up or taken. The sailors and troops 
on board of the remainder, landed in an unsettled part of the 
country, and, having burned their vessels, had to proceed one 
hundred miles through a wilderness, in which many of them 
perished. 

During the summer of this year, an army of four thousand, 
under command of General Sullivan, was sent against the 
Indians of the Six Nations, all of whom had joined the British 
excepting the Oneidas. By the assistance of Tories, some 
fortifications were raised to oppose the progress of the army. 
These were assaulted. After a siii^ht resistance, the Indians 



CAMPAIGNS OF 1778 AND 1779. 273 

Expedition of Paul Jones. 

gave way and fled to the woods, retreating as they were pur- 1779 
sued. They deserted their towns, which denoted a higher 
state of civilization than had been heretofore observed among 
the aborigines. Eighteen of these were destroyed, besides 
many apple and peach orchards, and the corn, then growing 
luxuriantly. After the return of the army, the Indians at- 
tacked some of the frontier settlements, and killed and cap- 
tured many of the inhabitants. This led to further retalia- 
tion on the part of the Americans. Eight more villages 
were burned, together with the crop of corn in the neigh- 
borhood. 

In the course of the summer, the American commissioners 
at Paris fitted out a small squadron, the command of which 
was given to Paul Jones. In Seventh month, (July,) he 
sailed from Port L' Orient in the Bon Homme Kichard, ac- 
companied by three other ships. In sight of the port of 
Leith in Scotland, he captured several vessels ; and off the 
coast of England, he attacked the Serapis, a superior and 
somewhat larger vessel than his own, which, with a frigate of 
half the number of guns, was convoying several merchant- 
men. The fight was desperate. During the engagement, 
the frigates approached so near each other, that Jones seized 
the opportunity of lashing them together, in which situation 
they continued for two hours, and were both frequently on 
fire. At length one of the men of the Bon Homme Rich- 
ard, carried a basket of shells out on the mainyard and threw 
them among the crew of the Serapis. These soon exploded 
among the men, and blew up a cartridge-magazine, which de- 
stroyed the guns on one side of the ship. 

The merchant vessels having by this time made their es- 
cape, and the Serapis being so much injured that the cap- 
tain could no longer defend it, he struck his flag. The Bon 



274 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Sufferings oif the army. 

1779 Homme Richard was at this time in a sinking condition ; and 
her crew and the wounded men were immediately transferred 
to their prize. 

The frigate in company with the Serapis was also captured 
by one of the other vessels belonging to the squadron. 
Jones soon after sailed for Holland, with his prizes, the value 
of which was estimated at more than forty thousand pounds. 
Jones received the thanks of Congress, and a gold medal 
was struck in commemoration of his victory over the Serapis. 

At the close of the season, one division of the army under 
Washington was quartered for the winter at Morristown, 
New Jersey; the other at West Point. Their sufferings 
were intense from cold, hunger and want of clothing. By 
midwinter, the soldiers were put on allowance, and more than 
once the stock of provisions was entirely exhausted. Appli- 
cation for relief was made to the magistrates of the neighbor- 
hood, who exacted a certain quantity of provisions from every 
county in the State, to be brought into the camp before the 
expiration of six days. The people promptly complied with 
the requisition, and the soldiers were by this means restrained 
from desertion. 

These sufferings were produced by a want of confidence in 
the ability of the government to redeem its bills of credit, 
known as the " Continental Currency." In order to defray 
the expenses of the army, it had been absolutely necessary to 
issue these bills, for the redemption of which, Congress was 
pledged. They were used as currency, and supplies for the 
army were purchased with them. At first, two millions were 
issued ; soon afterward, another million. This was at the 
commencement of the war, in 1775. The credit of the 
country was then good, and the bills were readily received. 
By the close of the following year, the amount in circulation 



CAMPAIGNS OF 1778 AND 1779. 275 

Depreciation of the currency. 

was twenty millions. This was a very desponding period, 1779 
The people were discouraged as to the result of the war ; 
consequently their faith in the ability of Congress to redeem 
the paper money became less, and its value depreciated. At 
the close of the year 1779, one silver dollar was considered 
equal in value to thirty dollars of the continental money. 

Confidence in Congress was at length exhausted ; and to 
purchase provisions with this money, was impossible. Each 
State was therefore directed to send a certain proportion of 
provisions and forage. This afforded temporary and partial 
relief Loans were next solicited from capitalists both in 
America and Europe. All however was not sufficient, and 
discontent could not be avoided. The pay of the officers 
was not enough to procure for them the necessary clothing. 

Another year was ended, and the war seemed no nearer its 
termination. The British had been obliged to return to as 
narrow encampments as they had occupied the preceding 
winter, but it had been a year of suffering, of anxiety and of 
fear. Hundreds of men had been sacrificed, many more had 
been wounded, others made prisoners. Fertile districts of 
country had been laid waste, towns and villages burned, hun- 
dreds of inhabitants rendered homeless, and many vessels 
destroyed. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1780. 



Gen. Clinton sails for the South. 



1780 The operations of the preceding year, especially the unsuc- 
cessful attack on Savannah by the French and Americans, 
had induced Greneral Clinton to believe that the southern 
portion of the Union might be more easily subjugated than the 
eastern and middle States. Leaving the army in New York 
under command of General Knyphausen, Clinton sailed for 
the South with a considerable force, a few days before the 
close of the year 1779, and reached Savannah about the 
end of the following month. The voyage was boisterous. 
Several of the transports were lost, with nearly all the horses, 
and one ordnance ship sunk with all her stores. After some 
delays, Clinton proceeded north, and landed his troops on 
John's Island, about thirty miles from Charleston, on the 
11th of Second month, (Feb.) 

On the arrival of Clinton, Governor Rutiedge issued 
orders for the assembling of the militia ; but, disheartened by 
the result of the attack on Savannah, few obeyed the call. 
He then ordered all the militia who had been drafted, and all 
the property holders in Charleston, to join the American 
standard, under penalty of the confiscation of their property. 

The fortifications in Charleston were industriously repaired ; 
and in expectation of reinforcements. General Lincoln re- 
mained in the place. Clinton waited for additional troops 
from New York, and then cautiously advanced toward the 



CAMPAIGN OP 1780. 277 

Siege of Charlestoa. 

town, erecting fortifications as he proceeded. On the 29th 1780 
of Third month, . (March,) the British army reached 
Ashley river, ten miles above Charleston, and crossed it with- 
out opposition, the garrison being unable to resist thera. 
The artillery, baggage and stores were all conveyed across 
the river, and on the 1st of Fourth month, (April,) the 
British commenced the siege of Charleston. On the 9th 
their fleet, taking advantage of both wind and tide, passed 
Fort Moultrie without stopping to return the heavy fire 
"which was discharged at thera, and thus gained entire com- 
mand of the harbor. Their ships were somewhat damaged, 
and twenty-seven men killed or wounded. On the same day, 
the British works being completed, and a battery constructed 
within eleven hundred yards of the American fortifications. 
General Lincoln was summoned to surrender the town. This 
he refused to do, and a destructive fire from the batteries was 
immediately commenced. 

The Americans were soon cut off from all means of retreat, 
and every hope of assistance failed- The posts which had 
been established at various places, to facilitate the passage of 
the garrison, should it be necessary to evacuate the town, 
were all surprised. The British were advancing nearer. An 
offer to capitulate was made, but the terms were refused by 
the British commander, and hostilities re-coramenced. A 
negotiation was afterward opened, and a capitulation signed 
on the 12th of Fifth month, (May,) about three and a half 
months after Clinton arrived at Savannah. The militia were 
to be allowed to return to their respective homes as prisoners 
on parole, and were not to be molested in their persons or 
property while they remained faithful. 

The loss of Charleston was much felt by the Americans, 
and was an equally great cause of encouragement to the 
24 



278 niSTORY OF the united states. 

Colonel Tarleton. 

1780 British, who already had the command of Greorgia, and by 
obtaining possession of the capital of South Carolina, would 
now have the control of the southern portion of the Union. 
Clinton immediately took measures for inducing the inhabi- 
tants to return to their allegiance to the king. A proclama- 
tion was issued, offering pardon for all past offences on con- 
dition of submission, and exemption from taxation excepting 
by their own legisUiture. This latter offer, if made to all 
the provinces, would at one period have prevented dissension 
between the two countries. There had always been in the 
Southern States, many who were favorable to the British 
interests. Some of these had been deterred from taking any 
active [)art by the superior force of the Americans, but were 
now induced to espouse the cause of Great Britain. 

Clinton also established garrisons in different parts of the 
State, to overawe the militia, and sent a party of two thou- 
sand men under Cornwallis toward North Carolina, to repel 
any forces that might be advancing to the relief of Charles- 
ton. Being informed of the position of Colonel Buford, 
who, with four hundred men, was advancing for this purpose, 
and was now near the borders of North Carolina, a detach- 
ment of seven hundred men, under Colonel Tarleton, was sent 
forward to surprise them. By a march of one hundred and 
five miles in fifty-four hours, they came up with the Ameri- 
cans at a district called the Waxhaws, and ordered them to 
surrender. On Buford's refusal, an attack commenced. 
The Americans were soon obliged to submit to the superior 
strength of the British. They threw down their arms, and 
called for quarter. No attention was paid to their submission, 
and the slaughter was continued until nearly all the regiment 
were killed, or so badly wounded that they could not be 
removed from the field, A few bad saved themselves bj 
flight. 



CAMPAIGN OF 1780. 279 



Colonel Sumpter. 



Beiiig thus entiicly successful, Clinton considered the State 1780 
subdued. He therefore sailed for New York, early in 
Sixth month, (June,) with a great part of his forces, leaving 
Cornwallis with an army of four thousand men, to keep down 
all oppo:;-ition. 

Admiral Howe having been censured for not employing 
the inhabitants in the royal service, Clinton instructed Corn- 
wallis to absolve the South Carolinians from their paroles, and 
to restore to them all the riglits antl duties of citizens. A pro- 
clamation was therefore issued to this effect ; which also stated 
that whoever would not take an active part in " settling and 
securing his Majesty's government," should be treated as 
rebels. Most of the inhabitants had either given their parole, 
or submitted as British subjects ; many of them influenced 
by the hope of obtaining tranquillity. By the orders of Clin- 
ton, this was now denied them. Indignant at the violation of 
the terms of their submission, multitudes resumed their arms, 
and resolved on a vindictive war; whilst many left the State, 
and joined the army which Congress was raising for the recov- 
ery of South Carolina. 

A party who had fled for safety to North Carolina, choos- 
ing Colonel Sumpter for their leader, returned to their own 
State, where they attacked and defeated several detachments 
of the royal army. Each victory served to encourage others, 
and increased the number of Sumpter's men, until they 
amounted to nearly six hundred. In one of these engage- 
ments, the British regiment was reduced from nearly three 
hundred men to nine ; many were killed, the remainder were 
dispersed. 

The Maryland and Delaware troops had been ordered to 
South Carolina for the relief of Charleston, but they had 
been so much delayed, that they were not in time for this 



280 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Sufiferings of the army in the South. 

1780 service. Their number amounted to about four thousand, 
and the command had been given to Baron De Kalb ; but 
being unacquainted with the country, and not accustomed to 
undisciplined troops, General Gates was ordered to take 
charge of the southern army. Accordingly he joined them 
on the 27th of Seventh month, (July.) De Kalb had 
been advised not to take the direct road for Camden, 
South Carolina, where the main body of the British was sta- 
tioned, as it led through a sterile country of pine barrens, 
which could not afford subsistence for the army. When 
Gates took the command, he thought it best to proceed by the 
shortest course, and soon experienced the privations which 
De Kalb had endeavored to avoid. The want of provisions 
was early felt, and in the course of the march, the army suf- 
fered much from famine and fatigue. Disease and death 
among their number were the necessary consequence. 

On the 13th of Eighth month, (Aug.) the army 
reached Clermont, thirteen miles from Camden. The 
following day, they were joined by a large body of Virginia 
militia, which increased the number of tlie army to three 
thousand six hundred and sixty-three. Gates at this time 
received information from Sumpter, who, with a body of mil- 
itia was encamped on the west side of the Wateree, that an es- 
cort of clothing, ammunition and other stores for the British, 
was advancing from Charleston to Camden, and must cross 
the Wateree at a ferry about a mile from his encampment. 
Gates immediately sent a detachment of four hundred men, 
with some artillery, to enable him to capture the party. This 
they succeeded in doing, taking three hundred prisoners and 
all the stores. 

On hearing of the approach of Gates, Cornwallis hastened 
to join the army at Camden, and take command of it in per- 



CAMPAIGN OP 1780. 281 



Battle of Camden. 



son. The number of tlie British had also been reduced by 1780 
sickness, and after calling in the outposts, they did not 
exceed two thousand men. 

When Gates entered South Carolina, he issued a procla- 
mation, calling on the citizens to aid him in delivering the 
State from its conquerors. Although this had not the full 
effect anticipated by the American general, yet many joined 
the army, and Cornwallis found that he must retreat to 
Charleston, or risk a battle. His position at Camden being 
unfavorable to resist an attack, on the night of the 15th 
he marched out with his whole force, intending to assault the 
Americans in their camp at Clermont. 

The iVmericans were also moving to a more favorable posi- 
tion, seven miles from Camden. About two in the morning, 
the advanced guards of the hostile armies unexpectedly met. 
Firing instantly began. In several skirmishes which ensued, 
the British had the advantage. This considerably depressed 
the militia. 

Early in the morning both armies prepared for battle. At 
the first advance of the British, the Virginia militia threw 
down their arms and fled. Their example was followed by 
others, until only one wing of the army was left to contend 
with the superior force of the British. They made a deter- 
mined resistance, but were at length overpowered by num- 
bers, and fled. The relentless Tarleton pursued them with 
great fury for twenty-two miles, until all were killed, cap- 
tured or dispersed. Two hundred and ninety xlmericans 
were made pri.-oners. The number of killed and wounded 
could not be ascertained. Among those whose lives were 
lost at tlie battle of Camden, was the Baron De Kalb, second 
in command. 

Tarleton with his men next took the route toward Sumpter's 
24* 



282 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES- 

Rigorous treatment of the Carolinians. 

'80 encampment. Hearing of the defeat of Gates, this officer 
had retreated up the Wateree with his prisoners and stores, 
and believing himself safe, had halted to rest his troops. 
Owino- to the sleeping of the sentinels at their posts, the 
British rode into the camp before any alarm was given. 
Between three and four hundred were killed or wounded ; 
the remainder were dispersed. Three hundred British prison- 
ers were released, and all the baggage and stores fell into 
the hands of the captors. 

On the 17th and 18th, General Gates endeavored 
to assemble the remnant of his army at Charlotte, in 
North Carolina. After being joined by the militia of the 
State, his forces had amounted to upwards of four thousand 
men ; only one hundred and fifty of them could now be 
mustered. 

Cornwallis adopted measures of extreme severity, in order 
to intimidate the inhabitants from again revolting. He 
ordered that all who had once submitted to British authority, 
and had again taken up arms in the American cause, should 
be imprisoned and their property confiscated ; that all who 
had once " borne arms with the British, and afterward joined 
the Americans, should be put to death." In consequence of 
these orders, several were hanged, and many were brought 
to poverty. 

The disadvantages of slavery in these seasons of deep dis- 
tress, were severely felt, and the conquest of the State was 
facilitated by the willingness of many of the slaves to aid the 
British cause. They were not identified with the interests of 
the country, and felt that they had nothing to lose. 

The rifmrous measures of Cornwallis could not destroy all 
spirit of opposition. Many were yet unwilling to relinquish 
their independence. These formed themselves into bands in 



CAMPAIGN OP 1780. t283 

Success at King's Mountaia. 

various parts of the State, under different leaders, the most 1780 
prominent of whom were Marion and Sumpter. They would 
often emerge from some morass or piece of woods, and fall 
unexpectedly on parties of the British which were marching 
through the country to overawe the inhabitants. Several of 
these parties were cut off. 

The militia having assembled in considerable numbers, 
their leaders planned an attack on Major Ferguson, who, with 
a detachment of Tories, was endeavoring to cut off the 
retreat of a body of Americans, after an unsuccessful attack 
on Augusta. Major Ferguson awaited the Americans on 
King's mountain, in the western part of North Carolina. 
The militia divided themselves into three parties, which were 
to ascend the mountain from different directions. One of 
these was exhorted b}'" its leader not to wait the word of com- 
mand from him, but to five as quickly, and to stand as long as 
they could. If obliged to retreat, to get behind trees, but 
not to run away ; afterward to return and renew the fight. 
The different divisions arriving separately were each repulsed ; 
but retreating only a short distance, and getting behind trees 
and rocks, each renewed its fire when the attention of the 
British was diverted by an attack from one of the other par- 
ties. In this manner the battle was continued for an hour. 
The British, being entirely unprotected, were shot down in 
great numbers. At length Ferguson was killed, and his men 
surrendered. Eight hundred of the royal troops became 
prisoners, one hundred and fifty were killed, and about as 
many more wounded. 

Cornwallis was advancing to Salisbury in North Carolina, 
but hearing of the defeat and death of Ferguson, he returned 
to South Carolina, not without being much harassed by 
the militia. 



284 niSTORY OF the united states. 

Distress of Washington. Mutiny. 

1780 Gates had by this time assembled an army of fourteen 
hundred men, but was soon afterward recalled by Congress, 
in consequence of the defeats and disasters of the Americans 
under his command at the South. General Greene was with- 
drawn from the northern army, and appointed to succeed 
Gates. 

To return to Washington. The division of the army with 
him remained at Morristown during the winter and spring, 
without attempting more than to restrain the incursions of 
the British from New York. Washington's situation at this 
time was very trying ; unable to supply his half-famished 
men with the absolute necessaries of life, and yet unwilling 
to have them return to their homes for the alleviation of 
their sufferings. Many of the horses had died, or been ren- 
dered useless. Although Congress promised to make good 
the losses which the soldiers had sustained by the deprecia- 
tion of the paper money, with which they were paid, yet this 
did not relieve their present sufferings. At length, mutiny 
broke out, and two of the regiments announced their inten- 
tion of leaving, or of procuring subsistence by force ; and it 
was with the greatest difficulty they were induced to submit. 

The British commander, availing himself of the distressed 
situation of the army, sent emissaries among them, inviting 
them to join the Biitish standard, promising them comfort 
and abundance. Yet attachment to their country was so 
strong, that these offers were disregarded, and on the arrival 
of a fresh supply of pi'ovisions, cheerfulness was for a while 
restored, and desertions were rare. 

The l^ritish troops in New York, however, were not witli- 
out their privations. The winter was unusually severe, and 
the waters around the city were frozen, by which the supplies 
were to a great extent cut off. Gold was offered to the 



CAMPAIGN OF 1780. 285 



Incursion of the British. La Fayette, 

country people around for provisions and fuel brought within 1780 
the lines. Many were thus induced to endeavor to convey 
their produce to the British. The attempt on one side to 
protect this intercourse, and on the part of the Americans to 
prevent it, gave rise to much skirmishing. In one of these 
engagements, fifteen men were killed, several wounded, and 
a number were made prisoners. 

General Knyphausen, who commanded in New York, in 
the absence of Clinton at the South, availed himself of reports 
which were probably exaggerated, of discontents in the Amer- 
ican camp, to pass into New Jersey w^ith about five thousand 
men. He conceived that the American troops were ready to 
desert, and this movement was designed to encourage them to 
join the British standard. Detachments of the army were 
sent to oppose his progress ; many of the inhabitants also 
seized their arms. Knyphausen was obliged to retreat. In 
one rencontre, the Americans lost eighty men, the British 
more. Their line of march was marked by devastation. 
The town of Springfield, a few miles west of Newark, was 
burned, as well as other houses. 

In the spring, General La Fayette, who had returned home 
at the commencement of hostilities in Europe, arrived at 
Boston with the intelligence that the government of France 
had resolved to send a considerable land as well as naval 
force, to the assistance of the United States. While in 
Europe, La Fayette had used his influence with his sove- 
reign, to gain more effectual support for the Americans in 
their war for independence. This point being gained, he 
obtained his consent to return to America. 

The expected assistance from France arrived in Seventh 
month, (July,) at Newport, this post having been evacuated 
by the British. It consisted of seven ships of the line under 



28G HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Arrival of the French fleet. Blockaded at Newport. 

ii80 Chevalier De Ternay, convoying a fleet of transports, having 
on board six thousand troops under Count De llocliambeau. 

A few days afterward, Admiral Arbutlinot, who com- 
manded tlie ]>ritish ships vA New York, l)eing reinforced from 
England, sailed for llhode Island, and blockaded the French 
fleet in the harbor. Clinton al^o proceeded with eight thou- 
sand troops fur tlie purpose of attacking their land forces. 
Hearing, however, that Washington was preparing to take 
advantage of his absence, to advance against New York, he 
relinquished his design and returned. 

Washington with his forces now withdrew to West Point, 
and soon afterward, accompanied by La Fayette and other 
ofiicers, he went to Hartford to hold a conference with Count 
Rochambeau and Admiral Ternay, leaving the command of 
West Point wiih General Arnold. 

The post now entrusted to Arnold was the most important 
in the possession of the iVmericans. It gave them the con- 
trol of the river farther north, and defended the camps on 
both sides of the Hudson. It was generally deemed impreg- 
nable, and in it were deposited the most valuable stores. 
Arnold had been engaged in the war from the commence- 
ment, and had given many proofs of bravery and fortitude. 
At the battle of Stillwater, three years before, he had 
received a wound in the leg which disijualified him from 
active service. So far were his countrymen from luiving any 
doubts of his attachment to the cause in which they were 
mutually engaged, that applications were made to Washing- 
ton, to confer on Arnold the command of this important 
station. 

But his feelings had changed. After the evacuation 
of Philadelphia by the British, he was appointed to the com- 
mand of that place. There he lived in a sumptuous nianner, 



CAMPAIGN OF 1780. 287 



Treason of Arnold. 



and involved himself in debts, ■which he was entirely unable 1780 
to pay. He had frequently had in his charge the adminis- 
tration of public money, of which he rendered very unsatis- 
factory accounts, and he was finally accused of embezzlement. 
Much had been passed over on account of his military skill ; 
yet afterward, when he made large demands on the public 
money, a considerable part of his claim was rejected. This 
led to a course of conduct and expression, which subjected 
him to trial by a court martial, and to a sentence of reprimand 
from the commander-in-chief. 

From this time he became alienated from the cause of 
America, and finally resolved to betray his country. For 
this purpose, he sought a situation which would give a double 
value to treason. In a letter to a British ofiicer, he informed 
him of his change of principle, and expressed a wish to join 
the royal army and restore himself to the favor of his king. 
This led to a correspondence between Arnold and General 
Clinton, in which the former proposed to deliver West Point 
into the hands of the British. Ilis plan was, that the garri- 
son should be drawn out to figlit the assailants in the defiles, 
while a designated pass was to be left unguarded, through 
which tlie fortress might be surprised, and the Americans 
would be obliged to surrender. 

Having communicated this proposition to Clinton, the 
Yulture, sloop of war, was stationed in the river, near the 
American lines, but sufiiciently distant to avoid suspicion. 

Major Andre, adjutant-general of the British army, through 
whom a correspondence with Arnold had already been car- 
ried on, under the assumed names respectively of Anderson 
and Gustavus, was appointed by Clinton to have an inter- 
view with Arnold and complete the arrangements. Fur this 
purpose, he ascended the river in the Yulture, and in the 



288 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Capture of Andre. 

1780 night of the 21st of Ninth month, (Sept.,) he was conveyed 
to the shore, without the posts of both armies, in a boat sent 
by Arnold. Here he met the American commander. Their 
interview lasted until daybreak, when Andre was informed 
that it would be necessary for him to be secreted until the 
following night. For this purpose his regimentals were con- 
cealed by a surtout coat, and without his knowledge, he was 
conducted within the American lines. On the following 
night, he proposed to return to the Vulture. The boatmen 
refused to convey him, as she had been fired on from the 
American works, and compelled to remove lower down the 
river. The only alternative was to attempt to reach New 
York by land. Andre was therefore furnished by Arnold 
with a pass, under the name of John Anderson, and laying 
aside his regimentals, and assuming the garb of a traveller, 
be set out on horseback. Having passed the American 
guards and outposts, he believed all danger to be over. But 
the American army had a scouting party, who patroled the 
country between the lines of the two armies. As Andre was 
riding along believing himself safe and his mission accom- 
plished, his horse was suddenly stopped by a man who sprang 
from concealment. Being taken entirely by surprise he lost 
his presence of mind, and mistaking the man for a British 
soldier, instead of offering his pass, he declared himself a 
British officer on urgent business, and begged that he might 
not be detained. Two other militia men then came up, and 
Andre discovered his mistake. He manifested so much con- 
fusion that they proceeded to examine his person. In his 
boot they found papers, in Arnold's handwriting, containing 
a description of the works at West Point, and a particular 
statement of the strength of the garrison, with other informa- 
tion calculated to facilitate the capture. 



CAMPAIGN OP 1780. 289 



His execution. 



Andre offered the men a purse of gold and a valuable 1780 
watch, with more liberal reward from his government, if they 
would let him pass. But they would not be bribed, and 
conducted him to the captain of the militia. Here Andre, 
anxious for Arnold, begged permission to write to him, which 
was inconsiderately granted, and an express sent with the let- 
ter. Arnold immediately made his escape to New York. 

Having allowed Arnold sufficient time for this step, An- 
dre made himself known as the adjutant-general of the Brit- 
ish army. He then addressed a letter to Washington, which 
was enclosed, with the papers found on his person, to the 
commander-in-chief. In this he stated his real name and 
rank, related some particulars of the circumstances which had 
just transpired, and gave reasons why he should not be con- 
sidered a spy. 

The bearer of these communications took a different road 
from that which Washington pursued on his return from Hart- 
ford. He therefore did not receive any information of what 
had occurred in his absence, until he reached West Point ; 
when Arnold had fled. The necessary precautions against 
an attack from the British were immediately taken, and the 
case of Andre was referred to a court-martial, consistins: of 
fourteen officers. 

Before this tribunal Andre manifested frankness and candor. 
He concealed nothing respecting himself, but endeavored 
to avoid implicating others. His behavior won the sym- 
pathy of the officers, but they reported that having been 
found within the lines,* in disguise, according to the law of 
nations he was a spy, and as such he should suffer death. 



* The Americans considered as their lines all the country not actu- 
ally occupied by the British 

25 



290 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Subsequent career of Arnold. 

1780 This sentence was accordingly carried into execution. An- 
dre petitioned that he might die as a soldier, hy being shot, 
and not as a criminal, by hanging. On consultation with 
the officers, it was decided that tlie public good required his 
death in the usual way. He submitted, and met the execu- 
tion of his sentence with composure. 

Major Andre had enlisted much sympathy during his 
short detention, and had given proofs of disinterestedness and 
ingenuousness of character. His death excited regrets in the 
minds of the American officers, and to Washino'ton the cir- 
cumstance was deeply trying. General Clinton, by whom 
he was much esteemed, made every exertion in his power to 
rescue him, first by negotiation and then })y threats, but 
nothing could avail. The thanks of Congress were voted to 
the three captors of Andre. It was also directed tliat they 
should each receive a silver medal and two hundred dollars 
in specie annually, as a reward of their fidelity. 

Arnold was immediately taken into favor by Clinton, and 
appointed brigadier-general in the royal army. But he could 
not be respected by his new associates, nor did Clinton feel en- 
tire confidence in him. At a subsequent period, having appoint- 
ed him to the command of an expedition to the Chesapeake, it 
is said that he authorized, by a " dormant commission, " two 
colonels, who were in the detachment, to supersede him and 
put him in arrest, if they had reason to suspect Arnold of 
any sinister interest. In a letter to the British government, 
speaking of this expedition, Clinton says : " This detachment 
is under the command of General Arnold, with whom I have 
thought it right to send Colonels Dundas and Simcoe, as 
being officers of experience and much in my confidence." 

Arnold survived the war, and spent the remainder of his 
life in England, exiled from his native country. He died 
unlamented in 1801. 



CAMPAIGN OF 1780. 291 

Dissatisfaction in the army. 

Toward the end of the year 1780, an agreement was 1780 
made for the exchange of prisoners. Hitherto Congress had 
considered that such a step would be unfavorable to their 
cause. They well knew the great expense to which the Brit- 
ish were subjected, in getting recruits from England; as well 
as the comparatively little increase of strength that would be 
afforded the American army by the release of American pris- 
oners, owing to the shortness of the enlistments. By the 
capitulation of Charleston and the defeat of Gates at Camden, 
however, many regular troops had fallen into the hands of 
the British, and Congress was at length induced to agree to 
a general exchan2;e. 

The season being over, the American army once more re- 
turned to winter quarters, principally at Morristown and 
West Point. Although the harvest had yielded an abun- 
dance, the sufferings and privations of the soldiers were again 
great. So much distressed were they, that officers were sent 
out to seize provisions, wherever they could be found ; the 
only payment given being a certificate of the quantity and 
value of the articles taken. The troops from Pennsylvania 
had enlisted for " three years, or during the continuance of the 
war," which they supposed would be a shorter period. They 
now complained that they were retained in service contrary 
to their enlistment. Worn with privations, thirteen hun- 
dred paraded under arms and declared their intention of 
marching to Philadelphia, and demanding of Congress a 
redress of grievances. 

The ofiiccrs endeavored in vain to induce them to relin- 
quish their purpose. In the attetiqit, one was killed and 
several were wounded. At Princeton they were met by emis- 
saries from General Clinton, with tempting offers to place 
themselves under the protection of the British. These offers 



292 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Relief of the troops. 



1780 were instantly rejected, and the agents seized. At this place 
they were also met by a committee of Congress, who, by 
yielding in part to their demands, persuaded them to return 
to the camp. The emissaries of Clinton were afterward 
tried by a board of officers, convicted as spies, and hung. 

This revolt, and one among the New Jersey troops, which 
was repressed by the death of two of the leaders, awakened 
the people to the miserable condition of the army. The 
amount of three months' pay was raised and forwarded to 
them in specie, which was joyfully received. 



V 



CHAPTER XXV. 

CAMPAIGN OF 1781. CONCLUSION OF THE AVAR. TREATY 
OF PEACE SIGNED. 

Battle of the Cowpeus. 

When General Greene took the command at the south, the 1781 
army consisted of two thousand men, very deficient in cloth- 
ing, and dependent on frequent collections of food for sub- 
sitetence, while the number of Tories in tliat part of the 
countiy rendered it very difiicult to bring provisions from 
any distance. 

Soon after the arrival of the new commander, he sent a 
detachment of his men, under General Morgan, into the 
western part of South Carolina, where the king's troops and 
the Tories were plundering the inhabitants without restraint. 
Morgan was to watch the motions of the British at Camden^ 
as well as to find provisions for his men. 

Against this detachment, Cornwallis sent Tarleton, with a 
superior force, consisting of nearly eleven hundred troops. 
Tarleton moved rapidly in the hope of surprising Morgan ; 
but the latter, hearing of his approach, arranged his men 
for battle, at a place called the Cowpens, near the division 
line between North and South Carolina, on the 17th of 
First month, (Jan.,) 1781. 

The British soon after appeared in sight, and commenced 
the attack, expecting an easy victory. jMistaking certain 
movements which Morgan had directed, for a retreat, the 
25* 



294 HISTORY OP TUE UNITED STATES. 

Pursuit of the Americans. 

1781 British rushed forward in disorder, and were met by an unex- 
pected and destructive fire from the infantry. Their confu- 
sion was increased, and after a sharp conflict, they surren- 
dered. One hundred of the British were killed, upwards of 
two hundred wounded, and five hundred made prisoners. 
Tarleton escaped. The Americans had twelve men killed 
and sixty wounded. 

The result of this battle deranged the plans of Cornwallis 
for the subjugation of North Carolina. Having learned that 
Morgan, immediately after the engagement, had set oflf with 
his prisoners and all his forces toward Virginia, he deter- 
mined to intercept him, if possible, prevent his joining the 
main body of the army, and compel the restoration of the 
prisoners. He therefore destroyed nearly all his baggage, 
retained no wagons, excepting those containing the stores, and 
four for the sick and wounded. On the 19th the race com- 
menced. Both armies were equally distant from the fords of 
the Catawba, where it was necessary to cross that river, and 
each strove to reach them first. On the tenth day of the 
march, Morgan and his party arrived and crossed. Two 
hours afterward, Cornwallis appeared. It being then dark, 
he encamped for the night. The river at that time was rising, 
and a heavy fall of rain rendered it impassable before morning. 
He was detained here two days, which gave the American 
commander an opportunity of sending forward the prison- 
ers until they were beyond the reach of Cornwallis. Mor- 
gan was preparing to defend the passage of the river, when 
Greneral Grreene arrived and took the command. He had left 
the main body of his army, with orders to march toward Vir- 
ginia, and had ridden one hundred and fifty miles to join 
Morgan. 

The fords of the river were guarded, but owing to the 



CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. 295 

Their escape. 

death of one of the officers, and the misconduct of the militia 1781 
under his command, the passage was effected by the British. 
Greene now set off for the Yadkin, and Cornwallis marched 
after him, hoping to overtake him before he reached the fords 
of that river. On the second night, the Americans arrived. 
Before all had crossed, the British appeared in sight. The 
two armies lay encamped on opposite banks, and before morn- 
ing this river also was rendered impassable by a heavy rain. 
Cornwallis then marched higher up the stream, where he 
crossed, and Greene proceeded to Guildford Court House. 
Here he was joined by the other division of the army. 

The British commander still had a force superior to that of 
Greene, who was expecting additional troops from Virginia. 
He therefore endeavored to intercept the retreat of the Amer- 
icans over the Dan, near the borders of that State, distant 
one hundred miles. Both armies were without tents, and sub- 
sisted on food that could be procured during their hasty 
marches. Both suffered from the inclemency of the season, 
heavy rains and bad roads. The British were well clothed ; 
the Americans were illy provided in this respect, and nearly 
destitute of shoes. In marching over the frozen ground, 
their feet were often much cut, and their course was marked 
with blood. 

The knowledge that at the Dan the pursuit would ter- 
minate, kept up their spirits. On the fifth day, the Ameri- 
cans reached that river, and crossed in boats, which had been 
collected for the purpose. So closely had they been pursued, 
that although they had marched forty miles on the last day, 
they were scarcely over when the British appeared on the 
opposite shore. Further pursuit was impracticable. The 
river was too deep to be forded, and no boats could be pro- 
cured. 



296 IlISTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Battle of Guildford. 

1781 Tlie Airiericans having thus eluded the grasp of Cornwal- 
lis, he marclied to Hillsborough, where he endeavored to 
incite the friends of the king to join his standard. Several 
companies of them were formed. One of these, on the 
march to join Cornwallis, was met and slaughtered by a 
body of Americans, whom they had mistaken for British. 
Between two and three hundred were killed. 

Grreene, having been reinforced by six hundred militia from 
Virginia, determined to return to North Carolina. He there- 
fore re-crossed the Dan. For three weeks he avoided a battle, 
and employed his troops in cutting off the foraging parties of 
Cornwallis. The British next left Hillsborough and encamped 
near Guildford Court House. Greene, having been farther 
strengthened by new recruits, pursued and offered battle. 
On the 15th of Third month, (March,) a deadly conflict took 
place, which lasted for two hours, and resulted in the retreat 
of the Americans. The slaughter that had been made in the 
ranks of the British prevented pursuit. The Americans lost 
four hundred killed and wounded ; and eight hundred of the 
militia were missing. These returned home and did not 
again join the army. Of the British, nearly one hundred 
were killed, upwards of four hundred wounded, and twenty- 
six missing. 

This battle is said to have been one of the most severe that 
was fought during the war. After it was ended, the field 
presented a sad and awful spectacle. There were the dead 
and wounded lying promiscuously together. As soon as 
practicable, the wounded were removed by the British, who 
considered themselves the victors. But little assistance or 
relief could be bestowed on them, and before another day 
many of them were released by death from all physical 
suffering. 



CONCLUSION OP THE WAR. 297 

Battle of Camden. 

In the expectation of being attacked, Greene made prepa- 1781 
rations for a second engagement, but the army of Cornwallis 
had been much lessened, and the difficulty of finding pro- 
visions in that part of the country was so great, that he 
thou2;ht it best to retreat toward the seaboard. On the third 
day after the battle, the British began their march, leaving a 
number of their own wounded, as well as their wounded 
prisoners, in a Friends' meeting-house, which they had con- 
verted into a hospital. The Americans pursued for a few 
days, but their sufferings had been so great from hunger and 
fatigue, that they halted at Ramsay's Mills for refreshment 
and rest. Here Greene concluded to give up the pursuit, 
sensible that his force was inferior to that of Cornwallis, and 
proceed to Camden, South Carolina, where Lord Rawdon was 
stationed with a portion of the British army. 

Having arrived near Camden, the Americans took a posi- 
tion about one mile from the British encampment. Here 
they were attacked on the 26th of Fourth month, (April.) 
The action continued at intervals, through a great part of the 
day, when the Americans retreated, taking with them their 
wounded, and about sixty prisoners. The loss on both sides 
was nearly equal, each party having about two hundred and 
fifty killed, wounded and missing. 

After the battle, the British returned to Camden ; the 
American army withdrew a few miles. Some days afterward 
Lord Rawdon was joined by four hundred additional trcops, 
and planned a surprise of the American camp. Greene, 
hearing of the reinforcement, took a more favorable position. 
The British followed them, but after viewing the camp, con- 
cluded it unsafe to make any attack. The situation of Raw- 
don and his men was becoming critical. Many of their out- 
posts had been cut off, and it was with difficulty that supplies 



298 HISTORY OF THE. UNITED STATES. 

Siege of the British post, Ninety-six. 

1.781 could be obtained. A few days afterward they burned some 
private houses and otlier buildings, with a part of their 
stores, and leaving Camden, marched farther south. 

Several British posts in South Carolina soon after full into 
the hands of different parties of Americans ; also Fort Corn- 
wallis at Augusta, in Georgia. The presence of the American 
army, their activity and success, caused the disaffection of the 
inhabitants to burst furtli, and the greater part once' more 
revolted from British authority. 

Greene next turned his attention to the western part of 
the State, and marched with the main body of his army 
against a British post styled Ninety-six, from being that num- 
ber of miles from the town of Kecowee, in the Cherokee 
territory. It was strongly fortified, and garrisoned with five 
hundred men. Greene determined to besiege it. At first 
there was a prospect of success, but the Americans were soon 
informed that Kawdon had received reinforcements from Ire- 
land, and was marching to the relief of the garrison with two 
thousand men. No hope remained, but of taking the place 
by assault. A strong eff^jrt was made, but the assailants were 
repulsed, and retreated northward beyond the Saluda. They 
had lost, in the siege and assault, one hundred and fifty-five 
men. Eighty-five of the garrison were killed or wounded. 
The Polish general, Kosciusko, who had joined the Ameri- 
can army, was very active in this siege. Soon afterward 
Lord Bawdon arrived and pursued Greene as fiu- as the river 
Enoree, when, despairing of overtaking him, he divided his 
forces, and leaving a garrison at Ninety-six, reestablished 
himself on the Congaree. It is probable that Ilawdon sup- 
posed Greene had left South Carolina, but the American 
commander had resolved to recover tlie State, or die in the 
attempt. Within two days after the arrival of the British at 



CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. 299 

Battle of Eutaw Springs. 

the Congaree, one of their foraging parties was cut off, and 1781 
forty prisoners were taken. Thus notified of Greene's ap- 
proach, they left tlie Congaree, and retreated to Orange- 
burgh. Here the Americans offered battle. This was de- 
clined, and the garrison at Ninety-six was summoned to join 
the forces under Rawdon. 

This union the American general endeavored to prevent. 
Not succeeding, however, he sent detachments to interrupt 
all communication between Charleston and Orano'eburffh. 
The supplies of the British were thus cut off, and they found 
it necessary to evacuate all their posts in the northern and 
western parts of tlio State. From Orangeburgh, Lord Raw- 
don returned to England on account of ill health. The com- 
mand then devolved on Lieutenant Colonel Stuart. In order 
to drive his opponents still further to the south-east, Greene 
approached the British camp. The British then withdrew 
to Eutaw Springs, about sixty miles from Charleston. Here 
the army received a supply of provisions, and were reinforced 
by the arrival of some additional troops. 

On the 7th of Ninth month, (Sept.) the Americans 
encamped about seven miles distant, and Greene resolved to 
attack the British next day. The forces of the two parties 
were nearly equal, each having about two thousand men. 
At four in the morning of the 8th, the Americans moved 
toward the British encampment. On their approach, the 
British prepared for the attack. This battle was perhaps 
more bloody than any which had occurred during the war, 
and lasted for four hours. It is said that at one time, the 
officers fought hand to hand, with the sword. The British were 
at length driven from the field, and fled on all sides, leaving 
their wounded in the hands of the Americans. The loss was 
very great in proportion to the numbers engaged. Of the Brit- 



300 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The British -withdraw to Ch rleaion Loans from Europe. 

1781 ish, six hundred were killed or wounded, and upwards of five 
hundred taken prisoners; in all, more than half of the whole 
number engaged in the contest. The Americans had over 
five hundred killed or wounded, including sixty officers. 

After this disastrous battle, the British abandoned the 
interior of the country, and vv'ithdrew to Charleston. The 
Americans established a chain of posts, at a short distance 
from that place, and thus protected the State from their incur- 
sions. During the year the inhabitants had been exposed to 
various calamities. With two hostile armies traversing the 
country, the State nearly equally divided between Whigs and 
Tories, and each party apparently aiming at the extirpation of 
the other, the country presented a scene of carnage and misery. 
General Greene received a gold medal from Congress for his 
success in driving the British within the fortifications of 
Charleston. 

At this period of the war, the continental currency had 
ceased altogether to circulate. Its depreciation had been so 
great, that Congress had anticipated such an event, and had 
taken measures to prevent any evil result. A loan of six 
millions of livres, nearly a million of dollars, was obtained 
from the king of France, and ten millions of livres were bor- 
rowed in the Netherlands, for the payment of which, the king 
of France became responsible. The revival of trade with 
the French and Spanish West Indies also introduced much 
gold into the country. 

In the early part of this year, Virginia was invaded by a 
detachment of British, under Arnold. With about sixteen 
hundred men and a number of armed vessels, he sailed up 
the Chesapeake. Having landed his troops, they proceeded 
to Richmond, where large quantities of public stores were 
destroyed, Then, making Portsmouth their head-quarters, 



CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. 301 

. . 1 

La Fayette near the Chesapeake. 

small parties were sent over the country, destroying public 1781 
and private property and burning the shipping in the 
Chesapeake. 

To protect the State, as well as to get possession of Arnold, 
for which some attempts had already been made, General La 
Fayette was sent to oppose him, with twelve hundred men. 
Before his arrival, two thousand troops, under General Philips, 
joined Arnold, and La Fayette found himself unable to pre- 
vent the British from marching through the country, com- 
mitting depredations. At one time, he feared that his men 
would very generally forsake him. They were mostly from 
New England, and dreaded the southern climate. By his 
judicious management and urgent appeals they agreed to con- 
tinue with him, and desertions became rare. He also raised 
money among the merchants of Baltimore, on his own bills of 
credit, to purchase for them shoes and some other articles of 
clothing. Soon afterward he marched to Bichmond, where 
he saved a large quantity of stores and provisions from falling 
into the hands of the British. 

It has been stated that after the battle of Guilford, Corn- 
wallis marched to Wilmington. At that place he remained 
three weeks, and then proceeded to Petersburgh, in Virginia, 
where he arrived on the 20th of Fifth month, (May.) Here 
he was joined by the British forces already in that State. 

La Fayette was at this time expecting a reinforcement of 
eight hundred men from Pennsylvania, under General 
Wayne. The junction with these Cornwallis endeavored to 
prevent, and also made a further attempt to get possession of 
the supplies which La Fayette had removed from Richmond. 
For this purpose, he stationed himself between the Americans 
and the stores, and when he felt sure of obtaining possession 
of them, the Americans, by opening in the night a short 
26 



302 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Cornwallis at Yorktown. 

1781 road which the British supposed impassable, encamped suffi- 
ciently near to preserve them. 

Cornwallis now withdrew to Williamsburgh, and La Fay- 
ette followed, having been joined by the troops from Pennsyl- 
vania, as well as other reinforcements. Here the British 
general received orders to send immediately a detachment to 
New York, as Clinton had learned, by intercepted letters 
from Washington to Congress, that an attack on New York 
was in contemplation, by the combined French and American 
forces. Cornwallis believing that with a diminished number 
of troops, he would not be able to maintain his position at 
Williamsburgh, crossed the James river with his army, and 
proceeded to Portsmouth. When he entered the State he 
was sanguine of success, but La Fayette had eluded his 
efforts to intercept him, had frustrated some of his plans and 
followed him with an army continually increasing in strength, 
and now it required the utmost vigilance to maintain his 
ground. Before the troops for New York had sailed, counter 
directions were received, Clinton having now no expectation 
of an attack. Cornwallis was also directed not to leave the 
Chesapeake, but to establish a defensive post for the recep- 
tion of ships of the line, as the British fleet would probably 
soon arrive there from the West Indies. 

Yorktown, on the south side of York river, and Gloucester 
Point, on the opposite side, were selected as the most suitable 
places. Portsmouth was evacuated. The army proceeded 
up the Chesapeake bay and York river, and on the 1st of 
Eighth month, (Aug.,) took possession of these two places 
and were immediately employed in strongly fortifying them. 

At an interview held on the 21st of Fifth month, (May,) 
between General Washington and the French commanders, 
it had been resolved to unite the French and American 



CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. 303 

Arnold at New London. 

forces in an attack on New York. Plans were made for 1781 
considerable reinforcements, but the militia arrived slowly. 
During the delay, Clinton was strengthened by the addition 
of three thousand Germans. This augmentation of the Brit- 
ish force, with information of the position of Cornwallis at 
Yorktown, also that a French fleet was destined for the Ches- 
apeake, induced Washington to change the plan of opera- 
tions and march south in order to join the army in Virginia. 

The appearance of preparations for an attack on New 
York was maintained. The fact of Washington's letter de- 
tailing the plan having been intercepted, rendered it more 
easy to deceive Clinton. Leaving the command of the posts 
on the Hudson to General Heath, Washington commenced 
his march in such a manner as to lead Clinton to suppose his 
first object was to obtain possession of Staten Island. The 
British commander therefore increased his exertions to 
strengthen his position, and it was not until the whole army 
had crossed the Delaware, that he was undeceived. It was 
then too late to make arrangements for pursuit. He therefore 
sent an expedition against New London, which he hoped 
would call the Americans back, but Washington persevered 
in his undertaking. 

The command of the detachment sent against New Lon- 
don, was given to Arnold. On the 6th of Ninth month, 
(Sept.,) the troops were landed. A part, under Lieutenant 
Colonel Eyre, attacked Fort Griswold at Grot on, on the east 
side of the river, while Arnold proceeded to New London. 
But little resistance was made at the latter place, and the 
British entered the town. Fort Griswold was defended by the 
small garrison, but after desperate fighting, the assailants 
obtained possession. The commander was killed by a British 
officer^ after resistance had ceased. This seemed to be the 



304 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Burniog of the town. Americans strengthened in Virginia. 

1781 signal for a general massacre. Of one hundred and sixty 
men composing the garrison, all but forty were killed or 
wounded, many of them after the surrender had been made. 
The British lost forty-three killed and one hundred and forty- 
five wounded. New London was then burned and a very 
large amount of property destroyed. Having consummated 
this vindictive proceeding, Arnold and his men returned to 
New York. 

At Chester, Washington learned that Admiral De Grasse 
had entered the Chesapeake, with a fleet of twenty-eight 
sail of the line. This was a force suflQciently strong to pre- 
vent the escape of the British by water. Cheered by this in- 
formation the army pressed forward, and on the 25th of Ninth 
month, (Sept.,) the last division of the allied forces reached 
William sburgh, the place appointed for their meeting, a few 
miles distant from York. The whole number of troops 
amounted to twelve thousand. A partial engagement had 
already taken place, between the British and French fleets. 
On the arrival of De Grasse, three large ships and some frig- 
ates were sent to blockade James river; the remainder 
anchored in the bay. Thirty-two hundred troops were landed, 
and effected a junction with La Fayette, who was stationed 
to prevent the escape of Cornwallis into North Carolina. 
When the British vessels, which were expected to arrive from 
the West Indies, appeared off the capes, De Grasse sailed out 
to meet them. Some fighting took place, but more manoeu- 
vring on the part of the French. The object of this was 
to afford an opportunity for a French fleet from Newport, 
which De Grasse was expecting, to enter the Chesapeake. 
These vessels had met with some detention, and sailed into 
the bay in the course of the following night. De Grasse now 
returned to his former position in the bay. The British, in 



CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. 805 

Siege of Yorktown. 

consequence of this accession of strength to their opponents, 1781 
sailed for New York. 

Cornwallis had determined to await the issue of a siege, 
hoping to be relieved by the fleet from the West Indies, and 
also, having received despatches from Clinton, announcing 
his intention of sending assistance from New York. His 
main army was encamped about Yorktown, within a range of 
fortifications. Tarleton, with six or seven hundred men, was 
stationed at Gloucester Point, on the opposite side of the 
river ; a communication being kept up between them by bat- 
teries and several ships of war. 

On the 27th of Ninth month, (Sept.,) the main body of 
the Americans marched, by different routes, toward Yorktown. 
Having reached the ground assigned them, they encamped for 
the night, after driving in some of the British outposts. 
The next day the plan of attack was arranged. A detach- 
ment was sent to enclose the garrison at Gloucester Point. 
The French fleet in the river effectually prevented escape in 
that direction, as well as cut oflf all supplies or reinforcements. 
The besieging army was employed until the 26th of Tenth 
month, (Oct.,) in making various arrangements and convey- 
ing the artillery and stores from the landing place on James 
river, a distance of six miles. On that night they com- 
menced erecting a parallel within six hundred yards of the 
British lines. The night was dark and rainy. The besiegers 
worked with silence and diligence, and were not discovered 
until morning, when their works were raised sufficiently to 
protect them. By the afternoon of the 9th, several batteries 
were completed, and a heavy cannonade was commenced. 
The continual discharge of shot and shells damaged some 
unfinished works of the British, dismounted some of their 
guns and killed a number of men. Some of the sheila 



806 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Surrender of CornwalHs. 

1781 passed over tlie town, and reaching the shipping in the har- 
bor, set on fire several vessels. 

On the 11th, another parallel was commenced, three hun- 
dred yards in advance of the former, and three days were 
employed in completing it. The fire from these batteries was 
more furious and destructive than that from the others. It 
was next considered necessary to gain possession of two 
redoubts, about two hundred yards from the British works, 
the fire from them beine; destructive to the Americans in 
their new position. To encourage a spirit of emulation, the 
command of the enterprise against one of these, was commit- 
ted to an American, that against the other to a Frenchman. 
Both were successful, though attended with considerable loss 
of life. 

A sortie was made from the garrison on the 16th. The 
party committed some damage to the American batteries, but 
was soon obliged to return. Cornwallis now concluded that 
the only hope of avoiding a surrender, was by crossing to 
Gloucester Point, and forcing his way through the troops sur- 
rounding it. Reduced to this necessity, he prepared as many 
boats as could be procured. The first division of his army 
landed in safety. A storm of wind and rain afterward arose, 
which forced him to abandon the project. 

On the 17th, several new batteries were opened. The 
works of the British were sinking rapidly under the powerful 
cannonades. Cornwallis begged for a cessation of hostilities 
for twenty-four hours. In reply, Washington expressed his 
desire to spare the further effusion of blood, but refused to 
suspend hostilities for more than two hours. Cornwallis 
then proposed that commissioners should be appointed to 
ag!ce on terms of surrender. On the 19th, the terms were 
ratified by the respective commanders. Yorktown and Glouces- 



CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. 307 

Terms of capitulat.ion. 

ter Point, with all the British troops, seven thousand in 1781 
number, and the stores, were surrendered to the United States ; 
the naval force to France. The troops were to remain prison- 
ers of war in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, with 
officers for their protection and government. The remainder 
of the officers were allowed to return to Europe, or to reside 
in any part of the United States not held by the British ; 
and all, both officers and soldiers, were permitted to retain 
their private property. The privilege was granted to Corn- 
wallis, of sending a sloop of war, unsearchod, to New York, 
with despatches to General Clinton, the vessel to be after- 
ward given up. On board of this sloop many Tories escaped. 
General Lincoln was appointed to receive the submission of 
the royal array in the same manner as had been prescribed to 
him on his surrender at Charleston. During the siege, five 
hundred and fifty of the garrison were either killed or 
wounded ; and three hundred of the French and Americans. 

The British commander in New York had been anxious to 
relieve Cornwallis from his perilous situation, but the fleet 
had sustained damage in the engagement with De Grasse, and 
considerable time was necessarily spent in repairing it. On 
the 19th of Tenth month, (Oct.,) the day on which the terms 
of capitulation were signed, Clinton embarked with seven 
thousand of his best troops. The fleet did not reach the 
entrance of the Chesapeake until the 24th. Here informa- 
tion was received of the event which proved so fatal to the 
British cause in America, and Clinton, with his troops, 
returned to New York. 

The surrender of Cornwallis caused the liveliest sensations 
of joy and gratitude throughout the country. A prospect 
seemed now to open for a speedy termination of the war. 
Congress passed a vote of thanks to each of the commanders, 
and to all engaged in the siege. 



308 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Debates in Parliament. 

1781 The British forces in the United States from this time 
were confined to New York, Charleston, and Savannah. 
From these places, they occasionally made excursions for the 
purpose of foraging and plunder, but found themselves unable 
to undertake any thing for the active prosecution of the war. 

The loss of a second entire army extinguished the hope 
which the people of Great Britain had entertained of the 
success of their cause in America, and they strongly and 
urgently demanded the termination of a ruinous war. Greorge 
III, however, felt unwilling to relinquish his hold on the 
colonies, and in a speech to Parliament, declared that he 
could not consent to sacrifice '* to their temporary ease and 
relief, those essential rights and permanent interests, on the 
maintenance and preservation of which, the future strength 
and security of the country must forever depend." 

Earnest debates ensued in the House of Commons. Lord 
North, prime minister, avowed the intention of the ministers 
still to prosecute the war. Excellent speeches were made in 
favor of peace. Burke spoke of the rights which it had been 
contended could not be given up. ''Valuable rights ! that 
have cost Britain thirteen provinces, four islands, one hun- 
dred thousand men, and more than seventy millions of 
money." " That have taken from us our trade, our manu- 
factures and commerce." 

Various motions were made for the discontinuance of the 
war, but Lord North was strenuous in his opposition. At 
each renewal of the debate, his majority lessened, until finally 
the peace party gained the ascendency. The prime minister 
consequently retired from office, and was succeeded by the 
Marquis of Rockingham. His efforts were directed to the 
cause of peace, but in consequence of his decease, the Earl 
of Sbelburne was very soon appointed to fill the office The 



CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. 309 

Suspension of hostilities. 

other ministers afterward generally resigned, and a new cab- 1782 
inet was formed. 

The energies of the ministry were now directed toward the 
negotiation of peace with the United States, and commis- 
sioners were appointed for this purpose. Early in the spring 
of 1782, pacific overtures were made, and hostilities were 
suspended. 

Congress had already commissioned John Adams, of Mas- 
sachusetts, to treat with the British government, whenever 
they should express a desire for peace. He had been 
appointed minister to Holland, and had been the means of 
obtaining a treaty of amity and commerce with that nation. 
The treaty was concluded on the 8th of Tenth month, (Oct.,) 
1782, the independence of the United States having been 
acknowledged on the 19th of Fourth month, (April.) With 
Adams were now united Benjamin Franklin, John Jay and 
Henry Laurens. Franklin was minister to France, Jay was 
a citizen of New York, and much beloved for the excellence 
of his character. He represented the United States in Spain. 
Laurens was a native of South Carolina, and had been 
appointed minister to Holland. In crossing the Atlantic, 
the vessel was captured by a British cruiser, and Laurens was 
sent to the tower of London, on a charge of treason. Ed- 
mund Burke plead his cause in Parliament, and he was soon 
after liberated, and exchanged for General Burgoyne. 

Other nations had been involved in the war between the 
United States and Great Britain, and all parties were now 
desirous of peace. The French fleet, after sailing to the 
West Indies, had been defeated in an engagement with the 
English, and De Grasse taken prisoner. Spain was discour- 
aged by the loss of Gibraltar, which she could not retake from 
the English, and Holland was anxious to renew her com- 
merce. 



BID HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Treaty of peace signed. 

1782 The commissioners met at Paris. Their negotiations were 
protracted by the claims of the several parties interested. 
They had been instructed, in conformity to a treaty with 
France, not to conclude a peace without the consent of that 
government. Great Britain acknowledged the independence 
of the thirteen United States, but the right of fishery on the 
banks of Newfoundland and the boundaries of the States, 
subjects of importance to the young nation, and in which 
France felt little interest, were matters of controversy. The 
Spanish envoys exerted themselves to procure the restoration 
of Gibraltar by England to Spain. In this they were unsuc- 
cessful. Preliminary articles of peace were at length signed 
on the 30th of Eleventh month, (Nov.,) 1782. The con- 
clusion of the treaty was deferred until the ratification of 
peace between France and England. This took place on the 

1783 20th of First month, (Jan.,) 1783, when the articles were 
signed by Great Britain, France and Spain. Early in 
Fourth month, ofiicial information of the general peace reached 
the United States, and was proclaimed to the army on the 
19th of that month by General Washington. By the terms 
of the treaty between Great Britain and the United States, 
the independence of the thirteen States was completely ac- 
knowledged. A line running through the middle of the great 
chain of lakes and their connecting waters, and through the 
river St. Lawrence was to be their northern boundary. The 
Mississippi was to be the extent on the west. The right of 
fishing on the banks of Newfoundland was ceded to them 
forever. 

While the negotiations were proceeding, the American 
troops were retained at their various stations, where they 
remained unemployed. They now feared they should be dis- 
missed without being paid for their arduous and perilous ser- 



CONCLUSION OF THE WAR. 311 

Dissatisfaction among the troops. Army disbanded. 

vices, and were in a state of high dissatisfaction. Many of 1783 
the officers, for want of payment, had expended their private 
fortunes, and they were fearful of being left without any pro- 
vision for future support. In 1780, Congress had passed 
an act, granting to the officers half-pay for life, after the close 
of the war ; but nine of the States refused to ratify this grant, 
and there seemed but little prospect of its being carried into* 
effect. The officers now petitioned that all arrears which 
were due them, might be paid, and that instead of half- pay 
for life, a sum equal to five years full pay should be advanced 
or secured to them, when disbanded. 

Congress delayed granting the request. This occasioned 
feelings of indignation among the officers, especially those 
stationed at Newburgh, who manifested some inclination to 
procure redress, in the same manner that the independence 
of the country had been acquired. Washington, being in 
the camp, assembled them together, and by a judicious appeal 
persuaded them to rely still longer on the disposition of Con- 
gress to do for them whatever the limited means of the nation 
would permit. He then addressed a letter to that body, in 
which he so strongly enforced the claims of the officers, that 
Congress was induced to grant the request so far as to agree 
to secure to them five years' full pay instead of half-pay for 
life. Soon after this, the news of the general peace was re- 
ceived and proclaimed to the army. 

Large arrears were still due, and many apprehensions were 
felt of a revolt, in case the army should be disbanded without 
pay. The treasury was empty ; and before the Superinten- 
dent of Finances could issue his notes for three months' pay, 
Congress had declared that all the soldiers engaged in the 
war, were to be discharged on the 3d of Dec. Many of 
them had not money enough to supply their most pressing 



312 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

The British evacuate New York. 

1783 wants, yet most of thera peaceably returned to their homes, in 
submission to their allotment. A few marched to Philadel- 
phia, where Congress was assembled. Having posted senti- 
nels at the doors, they sent in a message, threatening vengeance 
if their requisitions were not complied with. This availed 
nothing. Washington immediately sent a strong detachment 
fo Philadelphia, but the tumult had subsided. On the 25th of 
Eleventh month, (Nov.,) the British troops evacuated New 
York. Greneral Washington soon after entered, accompanied 
by a number of civil and military officers and other citizens. 
On the 4th of Twelfth month, (Dec.,) he met the officers col- 
lectively, and took an affectionate leave of them. Then pro- 
ceeding to Annapolis, where Congress was now sitting, he 
publicly resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of 
the American armies ; after which he retired to his residence 
at Mount Yernon, in possession of the gratitude and respect 
of his countrymen. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



ADOPTION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION, AND AD- 
MINISTRATION OF GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

State of the finances. Articles of Confederation insufficient. 

Although the country was now at peace, the legitimate 
effects of the war on the finances were seriously felt. Public 
and private debts pressed heavily. The nation had incurred 
expenses of forty-two millions of dollars, for the payment of 
which its faith was pledged. But Congress had no power to 
raise money. All that body could do was to make requisi- 
tions on the States ; and as these had their several debts, in- 
curred during the Revolution, and each its domestic govern- 
ment to support, the requisitions were often disregarded. 

The wealth of the country had been exhausted, and the 
means of eliciting it could not at once be brought into action. 
Taxes could not be collected. The Articles of Confederation, 
which bound the States together when they were threatened 
with a common danger, were now found insufficient for the 
purposes of government. They conferred no power to regu- 
late commerce, which was at present regarded as the most 
valuable source of revenue. Congress could make no treaty 
with foreign nations, which would be binding on the several 
States. Each State made its own commercial regulations, 
and these frequently came into collision. In their foreign 
intercourse one would sometimes pursue a system injurious to 
another. The trade between the States was also fettered by 
27 



314 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Insurrection in Massachusetts. 

1786 many restrictions. Under these circumstances, commerce 
languished, and the development of the resources of the 
country was retarded. 

In New England, a large class had been reduced to com- 
parative destitution during the Revolution, in consequence of 
the blockade of their ports by the British fleets, which pre- 
vented the prosecution of the fisheries, an important branch 
of business ; as well as of all commerce. Consequently when 
laws were passed in Massachusetts for the collection of taxes 
and debts, a portion of the inhabitants were incited to open 
insurrection. A number, supposed to be nearly fifteen hun- 
dred, assembled under arms, and demanded that the collec- 
tion of debts should be suspended. The general court passed 
some laws for lightening the burdens of the people, but 
not satisfied, three hundred of the insurgents marched to 
Springfield, and took possession of the court-house in order to 
prevent the sitting of the court. The number of rioters 
then increased so considerably that a large body of militia 
was ordered out to disperse them; when on the point of 
seizing the State arsenal, they were scattered by the fire of 
the militia. The leaders, on trial, were sentenced to death, 
but were afterward pardoned. A similar spirit, manifested 
in New Hampshire, was at once quelled by the rigorous 
measures of the governor. 

Some difiiculty having occurred in the execution of the 
articles in the treaty of peace, John Adams had been ap- 
pointed minister to England. Here he had an opportunity 
of observing the defects of his own government in commer- 
cial intercourse with other nations, and as early as 1783, sug- 
gested to Congress the necessity of effecting a closer union 
of the States, and the propriety of enlarging the powers of 
the general government. Washington and other prominent 



ADOPTION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 315 

Convention of delegates meet. 

men were convinced that a change in the Constitution of the 1786 
country was necessary. Various propositions had been made to 
remedy the existing evils, but none met with the cooperation 
of all the States. They were thus prevented from being 
carried into effect. 

In the autumn of 1786, on the suggestion of James Madi- 
son, of Virginia, a convention of delegates from five of the 
Middle States met at Annapolis, the other States not having 
responded to the call. The object of the meeting was to de- 
vise a more uniform system of commercial regulations. After 
careful consideration of the subject, the commissioners came 
to the conclusion that nothing short of a thorough change in 
the existing government should be attempted. They there- 
fore adopted a report, which was laid before Congress, in 
which they proposed that a general convention should be 
held for the revision of the Articles of Confederation, and 
provided for such alterations as would meet the exigencies of 
the nation. Congress, in consequence, recommended that a 
convention of delegates from all the States should assemble 
at Philadelphia, " for the purpose of revising the Articles of 
Confederation, and reporting to Congress and the several 
Legislatures, such alterations and provisions therein, as should, 
when agreed to in Congress, and confirmed by the States, 
render the Federal Constitution adequate to the emergencies 
of government and the preservation of the Union." 

In compliance with this recommendation, all the States 
excepting Rhode Island appointed delegates. In Fifth month, 
(May,) 1787, the convention met, composed of the most 
able statesmen of the country. George Washington was 
unanimously elected President. After deliberating and dis- 
cussing the subject for four months, they agreed on a draft of 
a constitution. Having been reported to Congress, it was 



316 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The proposed Constitution examined. 

1787 afterward submitted for ratification, to conventions of dele- 
gates in the several States, chosen by the people. 

For several months, the proposed Constitution underwent 
a critical examination by the people of the United States. 
Its various articles were discussed in the public journals, and 
the inhabitants were made familiar with its provisions. A 
series of essays, written by Madison, Jay and Hamilton, with 
the signature of " The Federalist," urged its adoption. It 
had, however, many oppose rs, who, much attached to liberty, 
feared the effects of the power to be conferred on the rulers. 
Two parties consequently arose, the Federalists, who were in 
favor of the new government, and the Anti-Federalists, who 
opposed it. 

It was provided in the Constitution, that its ratification by 
nine States should be sufficient for its establishment between 
the States thus ratifying it. Conventions met in the different 
States, and in some instances, but a small majority decided in 
its favor. It required a mutual compromise of conflicting 
interests for the advantage of the whole, but after nearly a 
year, all the States excepting North Carolina and Khode 
Island, had given it their sanction, although with some pro- 
posed amendments. 

By the new Constitution, the States were connected much 
more closely than under the Articles of Confederation. 
One important point of difiference was in giving Congress 
the regulation of commerce, as well as the ability to raise a 
revenue. 

The general government was made to consist of three de- 
partments, legislative, executive, and judicial. The legisla- 
tive or law-making department, is composed of a Senate and 
House of Representatives, collectively styled Congress. The 
former body is composed of two members from each State, 



ADOPTION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 317 

Its provisions. 

who hold their office for six years, and are appointed by their 1787 
respective legislatures. The Senate confirms the appoint- 
ment of officers nominated by the President, and ratifies 
treaties. The members of the House of Representatives are 
elected by the people for two years, a prescribed number of 
inhabitants to each district being entitled to send one mem- 
ber. In the States where slavery exists, this required num- 
ber is made up of slaves as well as of free persons, five slaves 
being counted as three freemen ; thus allowing to the slave 
States a much greater number of representatives for the free 
inhabitants, than is accorded to the free States. 

The executive of the government is the President. He is 
appointed by electors, in the several States, chosen by the 
people ; or by the House of Representatives, in case no per- 
son should receive a majority of all the votes of the electors, 
those from each State having one vote collectively. He is 
elected for four years, but may be removed from office by 
impeachment, in case of conviction of misconduct. He nom- 
inates, subject to confirmation by the Senate, all civil, mili- 
tary and naval officers of the general government, and is 
commander-in-chief of all the land and naval forces. He 
ratifies treaties, subject to the approbation of two-thirds of 
the Senate. The President also has power to pass a veto or 
negative on such acts of Congress as he may disapprove ; 
which acts may subsequently be passed and become laws, by 
a majority of two-thirds in both Houses, without the concur- 
rence of the President. 

A Vice-President is elected at the same time, and in the 
same manner as the President, to fill that office in case it 
should become vacant by death or any other cause. 

In Congress is vested the power to declare war ; to raise and 
support armies ; to provide and maintain a navy ; to collect a 
27* 



318 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Ratification. Washington elected President. 

1788 revenue by direct taxes and duties ; to regulate commerce, 
coin money, and in general, to provide for the security and 
welfare of the nation. Both Houses must coincide in any bill, 
previously to its becoming a law. 

The judicial department is vested in a supreme court and 
such district courts as Congress may establish. All questions 
arising under the laws of the United States come under the 
cognizance of these courts, as well as those concerning trea- 
ties, and cases arising between individuals of different States, 
and between foreigners and citizens. 

The requisite number of States having agreed on the Con- 
stitution, Congress took measures for organizing the new gov- 
ernment. The first electors for the office of President were 
chosen, and the eyes of the country were turned on George 
"Washington, to fill the office of chief magistrate. He was 
unanimously elected the first President of the United States, 
and John Adams Vice-President. 

Washington received the information of his election while 
enjoying the retirement of his home at Mount Vernon. He 
was earnestly solicited by his friends, and yielding to the call 
of duty, accepted the office with diffidence and reluctance. 
In a letter to a friend he says, " My movements to the chair of 
government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those 
of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution ; so 
unwilling am I, in the evening of a life nearly consumed in 
public care, to quit a peaceful abode for an ocean of difficul- 
ties, without that competency of political skill, abilities and 
inclination, which are necessary to manage the helm." 
** Integrity and firmness are all I can promise ; these, be the 
voyage long or sliort, shall never forsake me, although I may 
be deserted by all men ; for of the consolations that are to be 
derived from these, the world cannot deprive me." 



Washington's administration. 319 

His journey to New York. 

His presence in New York, then the seat of government, 1789 
being immediately required, Washington left Mount Vernon 
the second day after receiving intelligence of his appoint- 
ment.* His journey was marked with public attentions, 
from a people ardently attached to him. 

A committee of Congress, accompanied by the heads of 
several of the departments of government, met him in New 
Jersey. On arriving in New York, they were joined by the 
governor and other officers of the State, and the corporation 
of the city, all of whom united in warm demonstrations of 
respect and attachment to him who had, by the united voice 
of the people, been chosen the first President of the United 
States. 



* The promptitude with which the President left his residence at 
Mount Vernon upon receiving official information of his election, 
may perhaps be regarded as evidence that his reluctance to engage in 
the toils of a new political scene, were rather affected than real. But 
it may be considered that while he freely declared to his most particular 
friends the aversion which he felt to the proffered honors, he was 
fully aware that with the generality of mankind he would receive little 
credit for sincerity. Besides, he must have clearly foreseen, long 
before the election took place, upon whom the choice would fall. 
The most sagacious actors of the day united in the opinion, and were 
not slow to declare it, that the office of President 7nust, till the new 
government had passed through the first stages of its operation, be 
filled by George Washington. By the manner in which he had con- 
ducted the revolutionary conflict, he had acquired an influence which 
no other man possessed; he had given the whole weight of his char- 
acter in support of the new Constitution, and had presided over the 
convention which formed it. He therefore could not, consistently 
with the principles on Avhich he had acted through life, decline a ser- 
vice, however contrary to his private inclination, to which he was called 
by the voice of the nation. The struggle was unquestionably past 
before his election was announced to him, and his presence at the 
seat of government was indispensable. 



320 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Inauguration. 

1789 The 30fch of Fourth month, (April,) was fixed for the 
inauguration. The oath of oflnice was administered by R. 
R. Livingston, Chancellor of the State of New York, in 
the presence of both branches of Congress and a great con- 
course of citizens. It is in these words : — " I do solemnly 
swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of 
the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, pre- 
serve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United 
States." During this ceremony, silence prevailed through- 
out the multitude ; but when the chancellor proclaimed Wash- 
ington President of the United States, it was immediately 
responded to, by the discharge of thirteen guns and cheers 
from the thousands of spectators. 

The President then retired to the Senate chamber, where 
in an impressive speech addressed to his " Fellow Citizens of 
the Senate and House of Kepresentatives," he set forth the 
feelings of his heart in accepting the high honor conferred on 
him. He expressed a sense of incapacity ' ' for the weighty 
and untried cares" before him, and trusted that the "Almighty 
Being, who rules over the universe, who presides in the 
councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply 
every human defect," might " consecrate to the liberties 
and happiness of the people of the United States, a gov- 
ernment instituted by themselves for those essential pur- 
poses." 

He afterward addressed himself to the House of Repre- 
sentatives, telling them that when he was first honored with a 
call into the service of liis country, the light in which he con- 
templated his duty, required that he should renounce every 
pecuniary compensation. From this resolution, he stated 
that he had in no instance departed ; and that he would 
decline, as inapplicable to himself, any share in the personal 



Washington's administration. 321 

The first session of Congress. 

emoluments which might be indispensably included in a per- 1789 
manent provision for the executive department. He desired, 
therefore, that the pecuniary estimates for the station in which 
he was placed, might, during his continuance in it, be limited 
to such actual expenditures as the public good should be 
thought to require. 

The first object of Congress, after the organization of the 
government, was the establishment of a revenue to meet the 
annual expenses, and to defray the debt incurred during the 
revolutionary war. For this purpose duties were laid on all 
imported goods, and on the tonnage of vessels. Laws cre- 
ating the several departments of the state, of the treasury, 
and of war, were then enacted ; the former to include foreign 
as well as domestic relations. Thomas Jefferson was ap- 
pointed Secretary of State, Alexander Hamilton of the Treas- 
ury, and General Knox Secretary of the War Department. A 
national judiciary was also constituted, and John Jay 
appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Some 
amendments to the Constitution were proposed ; which were 
afterward ratified by the States, and which made it more 
generally acceptable. 

The first session of Congress lasted six months. Imme- 
diately after the adjournment, Washington made a tour through 
the New England States, and was every where welcomed 
with the greatest enthusiasm. The officers and soldiers of 
the army, who had been with him in suffering and in danger, 
greeted him with delight, and to all classes he was endeared 
by his virtues and talents. 

During the recess of Congress, North Carolina gave up 
her objections to the Constitution, and entered into the com- 
pact with the other States. 

In First month, (Jan.,) the next session of Congress com- 



322 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Report of the Secretary of the Treasury. 

1790 menced. The President, at the opening, recommended sev- 
eral subjects to the members as claiming their consideration ; 
among which were a uniformity in the currency, weights and 
measures; the promotion of agriculture, manufactures and 
commerce ; the encouragement of new and useful inventions ; 
and the establishment of post-oj0&ces and post-roads. He 
also suggested for their action, the forming of some provision 
for the defence of the country, and for the arming and disci- 
plining of the militia. This, with Washington's views of 
war and of the policy of nations, he considered necessary. 

At the last session, the Secretary of the Treasury had been 
directed to propose a plan for the establishment of the credit 
of the country. Accordingly he now presented a report, in 
which he proposed that the public debt should be funded ; 
but that the original loaners should be paid off by raising a 
loan equal to the whole amount of the debt ; also that the 
debts incurred by the several States for the support of the 
war should be assumed by the national government, and like- 
wise funded. The interest on these debts, he proposed, should 
be paid by the imposition of taxes on certain articles of lux- 
ury, such as wines and teas ; also on spirits distilled within 
the country. 

An animated discussion arose on the subjects contained in 
the report. The debts contracted by the continental Con- 
gress amounted to about fifty-four millions of dollars ; those 
of the States, to about twenty-five millions. The proposed 
measure of funding the debts was objected to, on the principle 
of aversion to public debt ; but it was finally carried ; that 
of assuming the debts of the States, excited a warm debate. 
The northern and eastern sections of the Union having been 
the principal seat of the war, the expenses had been mostly 
incurred by those States, while the southern portions of the 



Washington's administration. 323 

Change of the seat of government. 

Union owed but little. It was also objected that so much 1790 
power assumed by the general government would be inconsis- 
tent with the independence of the separate States. It was 
shown, however, that as Congress had entire control of 
the revenue arising from commerce and navigation, justice 
required that this step should be taken. The measure there- 
fore prevailed, making a funded debt of upwards of seventy- 
five millions of dollars. The imposition of additional duties 
to meet the interest of this debt, was deferred until the next 
session. 

These measures had a great effect in reviving the credit of 
the nation. The paper money, which had fallen to twelve or 
fifteen cents on the dollar, immediately rose to its par value. 
The original receivers had lost, however, as well as those 
through whose hands the paper had passed, who had been 
obliged to receive it at par, as it continued to be a legal tender 
in payment of debts. The difference was now gained by those 
who had bought it for speculation, and who thus received a 
great accumulation of wealth. 

During this session of Congress, it was decided to remove 
the seat of government from New York to Philadelphia for 
ten years, and subsequently to establish it permanently at 
some place on the Potomac river ; the selection of the spot 
was left with Washington as President. The next year the 
territory now forming the District of Columbia, was sur- 
veyed under his direction, and the city, named in honor of 
the President, was planned and laid out. The territory be- 
longed to the States of Maryland and Virginia, and was 
ceded by them for the purpose of establishing there the 
national seat of government. 

The relations of the United States with other governments 
were at this time in a very unsettled condition. The hostile 



324 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

National bank. 

feelings in England, engendered by the war, had not ceased; 
and no minister had been sent to this country. 

The revolutionary disorders in France produced misun- 
derstanding with the United States, and Spain manifested 
jealousy on account of the successful revolt of some of her 
colonies. Florida and Louisiana were under her dominion. 
The possession of the latter province gave Spain the control 
of the Mississippi, and its navigation was refused to the peo- 
ple of the United States. 

A treaty had been formed with the Barbary States. This 
was not found sufficient, however, to protect the ships of the 
new government, the vessels frequently being seized, and the 
officers and crew sometimes kept in bondage for several 
years. 
1791 During the session of Congress held early in 1791, the 
States of Vermont and Kentucky were admitted into the 
Union. Vermont had been formerly claimed both by New York 
and New Hampshire, but in 1777, the inhabitants had de- 
clared themselves independent, and refused to submit to either. 
Kentucky had been a part of Virginia, but was encouraged 
by that State to form a separate government, and on its appli- 
cation to Congress, an act was passed for its admission, to go 
into effect the first of Sixth month, (June,) in the following 
year. Rhode Island, one of the original thirteen, had given 
up her objections to the Constitution, and had joined the Con- 
federacy in 1790. 

Congress proceeded now to consider a proposition made by 
Hamilton for the establishment of a national bank. This 
measure was violently opposed, and pronounced by the anti- 
federalist or republican party, to be aristocratic and adverse 
to republicanism. It was insisted that Congress had no 
power to incorporate such an institution ; and its necessity wa 



Washington's administration. 325 

Further measures of Congress. 

denied. The bill, however, passed both Houses, and was sent 1791 
to Washington for his approval. Being extremely guarded 
against infringing the Constitution, he obtained the opinions of 
the Secretaries of the Treasury and of the State, and having 
examined the subject in all its bearings, he approved the bill, 
and the establishment of a national bank was decided. It 
was chartered for twenty years, with a capital of ten millions, 
to be located in Philadelphia, then the seat of government. 
Branch banks were authorized in several of the seaports. 

The bill for laying taxes on wines, teas and some other 
luxuries, was now passed, as well as for an excise on spirits 
distilled within the country, agreeably to the suggestion of 
the Secretary of the Treasury for raising a revenue to meet 
the interest on the national debt. The latter tax was violently 
opposed, but no more suitable means of raising the necessary 
revenue could be shown. 

The effect of the measures which Congress had taken for 
the prosperity of the country, was soon felt. Property, 
which had been greatly depreciated, rose in value, and a new 
impetus was given to different departments of industry. 

In order to determine the ratio of representation, the 
Constitution required that a census of the population should 
be taken once in ten years. The first was completed this 
year, when it appeared that the whole number of inhabitants 
was three millions nine hundred and twenty-one thousand 
three hundred and twenty-six, of whom six hundred and 
ninety-five thousand six hundred and fifty-five were held as 
slaves. 

For several years a warfare had existed between the Creek 
Indians and the inhabitants of Georgia. In 1790, they were 
induced to accept pacific overtures which were made to them, 
and their chief went to New York to conclude a treaty. 
28 



326 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Expedition against the Indians. 

1791 The Indians northwest of the Ohio cherished vengeance for 
past hostilities, and carried on a desultory warfare, attacking 
and plundering the settlers, and burning their houses and vil- 
lages. All offers of peace having been rejected by them, 
Washington considered it necessary to send an array against 
them. Accordingly in the autumn of 1790, about fourteen 
hundred men, under the command of General Harraer, were 
sent to destroy their settlements on the Sciota and Wabash 
rivers. A detachment going forward to ascertain the position 
of the Indians, the latter set fire to their principal village, and 
retired to the woods. A second detachment comins; in sight 
of the Indians, the militia were alarmed and fled. A small 
body of regular troops encountered their opponents, who were 
much superior in number. Twenty-three being killed, the 
survivors, who were but seven, made their escape, and rejoined 
the army. 

After this defeat, the American commander proceeded to 
burn all the Indian towns on the Sciota. He then despatched 
a force of three hundred and sixty men, to bring on, if possi- 
ble, a battle. They were soon attacked by a large body of 
Indians, and being overpowered by numbers, they retreated, 
leaving one hundred and nine men dead on the field. 

Emboldened by these victories, the attacks of the Indians 
on the frontier settlements were more vigorous, and for a time 
the inhabitants were exposed to all the sufferings of an Indian 
war. In the autumn of the following year, 1791, an army 
of two thousand men was raised, the command of which was 
given to General St. Clair, then governor of the North- West 
Territory. With this force he marched into the wilderness, 
with the intention of destroying the Indian villages on the 
Miami ; a course not very well calculated to soothe the savages, 
or put an end to their thirst for revenge. About fifteen 



327 

Retreat of the Americans. 

miles south of the villages they halted for the arrival of 1791 
a detachment which had been sent in pursuit of some 
deserters. 

The next morning before sunrise, they were unexpectedly 
attacked and surrounded by the Indians, who, protected by 
the trees, fired on them, and were seldom seen excepting 
when springing from one hiding place to another. Shooting 
at a concealed enemy producing little effect, the Americans had 
recourse to the bayonet, and drove the Indians a distance of 
about four hundred yards. They soon, however, returned. 
The slaughter continued very great among the Americans, until 
their only resort was to attack a body of Indians who had 
intercepted their retreat, and thus to reach the road. Being 
successful in this, a disorderly fight commenced. The Indians 
pursued for about four miles, when their desire for plunder 
induced them to return to the camp of their vanquished 
foes. 

In this battle six hundred and thirty-one of the Americans 
were killed, and two hundred and forty-two wounded. The 
loss of the Indians could not be estimated. It was probably 
much smaller. This disastrous defeat induced Congress to 
resolve on a vigorous prosecution of the war, and to raise the 
military force to five thousand men. 

Washington's term of office being about to expire, he had 1792 
entertained a strong wish to retire from the cares of public 
life, and had already prepared a farewell address to the peo- 
ple. He was, however, induced to relinquish this determina- 
tion, and was again unanimously elected President. John 
Adams was chosen Vice-President. 

The French Revolution had at this time reached its height. 
Louis XVI had been beheaded, and the form of a republic 
instituted. To the general war, which had arisen in conse- 



328 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

French revolution. Neutrality of the United States. 

1793 quence of the effort to overthrow royalty in France, the peo- 
ple of the United States could not remain entirely indifferent. 
In the early stages of the Revolution, but one sentiment 
respecting it prevailed. The people looked to it as a means 
of extending the blessings of liberty, and regarded the war 
in which the powers of Europe were engaged, as one for 
extirpating free governments. 

Washington hoped for a favorable result from the efforts 
of France to establish a republican form of government, yet 
he did not wish to involve his country in the event, nor did 
he forget that the aid rendered the United States in her efforts 
for independence, had been furnished by the family whose fall 
was now the triumph of the republican party. He there- 
fore determined on neutrality as the course for the United 
Stated to pursue. 

A disposition had already become manifest in some of the 
seaports of the United States, to fit out privateers and attack 
the enemies of France on the high seas. Washington im- 
mediately wrote to the Secretary of State on the subject. 
In this letter, he expressed his opinion that the government 
should "use all the means in its power, to prevent the citi- 
zens thereof from embroiling this country with the powers of 
France or Great Britain, by endeavoring to maintain a strict 
neutrality." In a cabinet council a proclamation was unani- 
mously agreed on, forbidding the citizens of the United States 
"to take part in any hostilities on the seas with or against 
any of the belligerent powers," and prohibiting " all acts 
inconsistent with the duties of a friendly nation toward those 
at war." 

The new government of France had withdrawn the minis- 
ter appointed by Louis XVI, and was about sending another 
in his place. There were members of the cabinet who con- 



Washington's administration. 329 

Citizen Genet. 

sidered the treaty with that nation as not now binding. The 1793 
fury and injustice of the Jacobin club at Paris, had raised 
scruples in their minds, as to the validity of the course of the 
French republican party, and excited a doubt whether that 
party was now in power by the consent of the people, or by 
violence, and whether the new system would be permanent, 
or only temporary. They were therefore of the opinion that 
the United States " should reserve for future consideration 
and discussion, the question whether the operation of those 
treaties ought not to be deemed temporarily and provisionally 
suspended." It was finally agreed that the new minister 
should be received without any mention being made to him 
relative to the discussion on the validity of the treaty. 

The person selected to fill the office of minister to the 
United States, was citizen Genet, a man of considerable talent 
and of an ardent disposition. His instructions and the 
letters which he brought to the President, were respectful and 
flattering to the nation. He arrived at Charleston in the 
spring. Instead of proceeding immediately to Philadelphia, 
he remained in the former place several days, authorizing the 
fitting out and arming of vessels, to cruise as privateers against 
nations with whom the United States were at peace. He was 
welcomed in Charleston with a great deal of enthusiasm, and 
on his land journey to Philadelphia, received many marks of 
public favor. These attentions led him to suppose that the 
people and the government were actuated by similar feelings. 
A large body of the people were still favorable to the French 
interests, many of them willing to aid a country struggling for 
liberty, but more who were anxious to repay the obligation 
which they felt their country owed to France, and who were 
yet ignorant to which party their obligations were due. 

Intelligence of the proceedings of Genet reached Philadel- 
28* 



330 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The minister's recall. 

1793 phia before his arrival in that city, yet he was there welcomed 
with warm demonstrations of friendship. The British minister 
complained of his course at Charleston, which had already 
resulted in the capture of a British vessel, sailing from Phil- 
adelphia, by a French frigate within the capes of Delaware 
Bay. 

When remonstrated with for his entire disregard of the 
proclamation of the government, recommending neutrality, 
he replied that the treaty between France and the United 
States sanctioned such measures, and that " any obstructions 
put upon them would not only be infractions of the treaty, 
but treason ao;ainst the rio;hts of man." 

Two individuals were arrested for cruising in the service of 
France. Their release was demanded by Genet. In this 
requisition, he was supported by numerous adherents, and 
was so far encouraged by the countenance received from 
American citizens, that he actually sent out a privateer from 
Philadelphia, the seat of the federal government, during the 
absence of the President. 

Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, was directed by 
Washington, to lay before the French minister, the principles 
which would regulate the conduct of the Executive, on the 
subjects at issue. The manner of the minister was insolent 
and offensive, and he threatened to appeal from the President 
to the people, who only, he said, possessed the sovereignty in 
a democratic State. 

This threat opened the eyes of those who had sustained 
him in the course he had pursued. Their confidence in 
Washington remained unabated, and they became sensible of 
the danger of permitting a foreigner to cause dissensions 
among them. The warmest admirers of Grenet now de- 
serted him, and the President demanded and obtained his 
recall. 



Washington's administration. 331 

Defeat of the Indians. Treaty of peace. 

Although the conduct of Genet lessened the numbers of 1793 
the republican party, yet many retained a strong sympathy 
for the French nation, whom they considered as struggling 
for liberty, with the combined forces of Europe. Much 
warmth of feeling was manifested in the contests between 
the two parties, and over them Washington watched with 
anxious solicitude. 

After the defeat of General St. Clair by the Indians in 
1791, General Wayne was appointed to the command of the 
American forces. After protracted endeavors to negotiate a 
peace, he marched against them in 1794, at the head of three 
thousand men. In an action which took place in the vicinity 
of one of the British garrisons, on the banks of the Miami, 
the Indians were totally defeated, and fled without renewing 
the engagement. Their houses and corn-fields were then 
destroyed, and a considerable extent of territory was laid 
waste. The following year a treaty of peace was concluded, 
which gave security to the frontier settlements. 

The tax which had been imposed on spirits distilled within 
the country, was unpopular in some parts of the Union, 
especially in western Pennsylvania, where whiskey had be- 
come an extensive article of trade. A spirit of opposition 
there became manifest, as soon as the law had been published. 
Meetings were held in order to excite public resentment 
against those who should willingly pay the tax, but especially 
against the officers appointed to collect it, and forcible resist- 
ance was encouraged. 

In the summer of 1792, the law was revised^ but the prin- 
ciple of excise was unpopular. Legal order was set at defi- 
ance, and the officers were prevented from the discharge of 
their duties. A proclamation was issued by the President, 
admonishing all persons to desist from illegal proceedings, 



332 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Riotous proceedings in Pennsylvania. 

and calling on the magistrates to use their endeavors to bring 
those who still continued to offend, to justice. This proved 
of no avail. The marshal was resisted and fired upon, while 
in the performance of his official duties. The house of the 
inspector of the revenue was attacked by a body of five hun- 
dred insurgents, who set fire to contiguous out-buildings, and 
thus obliged the soldiers who were guarding the house, to 
surrender. The females had previously been removed, 
and the inspector had also withdrawn to a place of conceal- 
ment. 
1794 The insurgents had avowed their determination to oppose, 
by force, the authority of the United States, in order to ex- 
tort a repeal of the obnoxious law. The President now felt 
bound to compel obedience, and concluded to overawe the 
rebels, by a show of superior force. The greatest strength 
of the insurgents was known to be about seven thousand 
men. Washington therefore called out a part of the militia 
of Pennsylvania and the neighboring States, to the number of 
about fifteen thousand. These were placed under the command 
of Governor Lee, of Virginia, who marched into the disaffected 
counties. The insurgents shrunk from a contest with a force 
so superior, and offered no resistance. A few of the most 
active leaders were seized and detained, although they were 
subsequently pardoned. In order to insure peace, a detach- 
ment of militia was stationed for the winter in the disaffected 
country. 

Early in ] 793, a report had been made to Congress, by 
Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, showing that the ex- 
ports of this country, in articles of domestic produce and 
manufacture, then amounted to nineteen and a half millions 
of dollars, and the imports to nearly twenty millions. The 
following year Jefferson resigned the office of Secretary of 



Washington's administration. 333 

Differences with England. 

State, having performed the duties with great ability. He 1794 
was considered the leader of the republican party, and 
was succeeded as Secretary of State, by Edmund Randolph of 
Virginia. 

Since the conclusion of the revolutionary war Great Britain 
and the United States had each complained that the other 
had violated the stipulations contained in the treaty. The 
former power retained certain military posts in the western 
section of the United States, the possession of which interfered 
with the Americans in their pursuit of the fur trade. By 
the terms of the treaty, these were to have been relinquished. 
In consequence of an order of the British government for 
the seizure of provisions going to the ports of France, 
American vessels were continually stopped and searched by 
English cruisers. Merchantmen belonging to the United 
States were also entered, in port as well as at sea, for the 
purpose of claiming any who might be considered British 
subjects, and carrying them off to be employed in the royal 
navy. On the other hand the American government was 
accused of preventing the loyalists from regaining possession ^ 
of their estates, and British subjects from recovering debts 
contracted before the war. 

John Jay having been appointed Envoy Extraordinary to 
the court of Great Britain, by a firm, dignified and judicious 
course of conduct, succeeded in negotiating a treaty with 
that government. 

By the treaty, England agreed to evacuate the posts hith- 
erto occupied by her, within the limits of the United States, 
and the latter nation to allow every facility for the recovery 
of debts to English creditors. Indemnification was promised 
for several illegal captures, although no provision was made 
to prevent the searching of American merchant vessels, or 



334 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Treaty with England. 

the impressment of American seamen. Vessels of the 
United States, under seventy tons, were allowed to trade with 
the British West In^ia Islands, provided the products of 
the Islands were carried to the ports of the United States 
only, and provided no such products, raised in the United 
States, were conveyed to Europe. This would prevent the 
cotton of the Southern States being shipped to the ports of 
2795 Europe. A few years previously, this article had been raised 
in small quantities, scarcely sufficient for domestic consump- 
tion, but now, by the invention of the cotton gin, it had 
become a staple production. 

In the spring of the following year, the treaty was laid 
before the Senate. It was the most favorable that could be 
obtained, and both the minister and the President believed it 
for the interest of the country that it should be ratified, as 
the conviction was felt that from the nature of the existing 
diflferences, war was inevitable should this attempt to adjust 
them prove unsuccessful. After a considerable discussion on 
the subject, the Senate concurred with the President in the 
ratification of the treaty. 

While this document was under discussion, the republican 
party were violent in their denunciations respecting it, con- 
sidering it as a mark of ingratitude to France. Public 
meetings were held in various parts of the Union, at which, 
decided disapprobation was manifested, and an earnest wish 
expressed that the President would withhold his approbation. 
When, however, the determination of Washington became 
known, such were his popularity and influence over the minds 
of the people, that the clamor against it became less violent, 
and the friends of the treaty ventured to speak out more 
boldly in its favor. The increased prosperity of the country 
and the stimulus given to commerce demonstrate the wisdom 
of the President's decision. 



Washington's administration. 335 

Treaty with Spain. Jealousy of France. 

During this year, treaties were concluded with Algiers and 1795 
with Spain. The latter country, fearing the influence of 
republican principles on her American provinces, had contin- 
ued to be unfriendly to the United States, and still denied 
the settlers west of the AUeghanies, access to the ocean 
through the Mississippi. The utmost exertions of the Execu- 
tive had hitherto been unable to effect an adjustment of the 
difficulties, but becoming embarrassed at home by a war with 
France, Spain now signified her willingness to enter into 
negotiations, should a special minister be sent to Madrid for 
that purpose. Accordingly Thomas Pinckney was appointed, 
and the terms of a treaty were arranged. In the autumn of 
this year, it was signed, and the free navigation of the Missis- 
sippi secured to the citizens of the United States, as well as 
the privilege of landing and depositing cargoes at New 
Orleans. 

While amicable adjustments were thus being made with 
different nations of Europe, the conduct of France toward 
the United States continued to be a source of increasing 
trouble. Having assisted them in their struggle for indepen- 
dence, she looked for something different from neutrality, 
now that she had become engaged in a war for the liberties of 
her people. 

The treaty with England particularly excited her resent- 
ment. The arrival of a new minister from France, and his 
extravagant addresses, enlisted the feelings of many in the 
United States, and showed that party spirit was still very 
strong. Washington, however, firmly adhered to the neutral 
policy, and the administration was charged with hostile feelings 
toward the allies of the nation. 

Another change was soon after made in the ministry. 
The present envoy brought with him the colors of France. 



336 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Washington's Farewell Address. 

1791 They were received by the President and Congress with great 
ceremony, and were deposited with the national archives. A 
resolution was passed by the House of Representatives, ex- 
pressing their interest in the French republic, and their hope 
that the liberty and happiness of the French people might 
become perfectly established. 

Mere professions were not sufficient to satisfy the govern- 
ment of France. She wished to make the United States a 
party to the war in which she was engaged with the nations 
of Europe. Jealous of the negotiations which had been 
carried on with England, she adopted regulations detrimental 
to American commerce, and directed her cruisers, in certain 
cases, to attack the shipping of the United States. Many 
vessels loaded with valuable cargoes were consequently taken, 
and every thing was confiscated. 

Washington's second term of office was about to expire. 
He had devoted a great portion of his life to his country, and 
now saw her in the enjoyment of prosperity, with an increas- 
ing population, wealth and commerce, and without difficulties 
with any country excepting France, and there was reason to 
hope these would soon be adjusted. He now determined to 
retire to private life, and no consideration could induce him 
to accept a rc-nomination to the presidency. His age excused 
him from further service, and two terms he Considered long 
enough for one person to fill the highest office in the gift 
of the people. 

In the autumn, Washington announced his decision to his 
fellow citizens in a farewell address, strongly marked with 
wisdom, and with the deep interest he felt in the lasting pros- 
perity of the country. From experience he had become 
acquainted with dangers to which the country was exposed, 
and warned his countrymen against them. He spoke of the 



Washington's administration. 337 

His retirement from office. 

baneful effects of party spirit, and gu^irded them against its 1796 
excessive indulgence. He was well aware, and expressed 
his conviction, that "virtue or morality is a necessary 
spring of popular government," and urged the importance of 
promoting institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. 

This address was read throughout the country with feelings 
of veneration for its author. Several of the State legislatures 
inserted it entire on their records, and most of them passed 
resolutions expressive of their high sense of the character of 
Washington, of the services he had rendered his country, 
and of the deep feelings with which they contemplated his 
retirement from office. 

The two great political parties brought forward their 
respective candidates for the presidency. The federalists 
were active in their exertions to elect John Adams, with the 
desire that the system of measures pursued by Washington, 
might be carried out. The republicans were equally anxious 
for the election of Thomas Jefferson. The result was the 
choice of the former for President, and the latter for Vice- 
President. 

Washington witnessed their inauguration on the 4th of I797 
Third month, (March,) 1797, and then, released from public 
duties, retired to his estate at Mount Vernon, to the enjoy- 
ment of domestic life in the country, and to the pursuits of 
agriculture. 



29 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

ADMINISTRATIONS OF JOHN ADAMS, THOMAS 
JEFFERSON AND JAMES MADISON. 

DifiBculties with France. 

1797 The most important subject which at once engaged the 
attention of the new President, was the state of afiairs with 
France. Despatches were received from Charles C. Pinck- 
ney, the American minister at Paris, recently appointed in 
the place of James Munroe, conveying the information that 
the French Directory, at that time holding the executive 
power, had refused to accredit him, and expressed their de- 
termination not to receive another minister from the United 
States, until existing grievances had been redressed. He 
was soon after obliged, by a written mandate, to leave the 
country, and the French Directory authorized the capture of 
American vessels, wherever found. 

Congress was immediately convened. The President laid 
before them, in a speech which evinced much firmness of pur- 
pose, the aggressive conduct of France. While he urged 
upon them to provide effectually for the defence of the 
nation, he announced his intention of making one more 
attempt at negotiation ** on terms not incompatible with the 
rights, duties, interests and honor of the nation." In pursu- 
ance of this intention three envoys were appointed to proceed 
to the French republic; Charles C. Pinckncy, the former 
minister, who had gone to Amsterdam on being obliged to 
leave France, John Marshall of Virginia, and Elbridge Gerry 



JOHN ADAMs's ADMINISTRATION. 339 

American envoys not received. 

of Massachusetts. They were instructed to seek a recon- 1797 
ciliation by means consistent with the honor of the United 
States, but the rights of the government were not to be sur- 
rendered. 

Whilst anxiously awaiting the result of this mission, most 
of the important business in the United States was at a stand, 
and the minds of the people were excited by receiving ac- 
counts of the captures of American vessels by French cruisers. 
A proposition to arm for defence was postponed by a very 
small majority in Congress. 

On arriving in Paris, the envoys were informed that they 
could not be received by the Directory. They were, how- 
ever, informally addressed by the agents of Talleyrand, the 
minister of foreign affairs. A large sum of money was de- 
manded before any negotiation could be opened, besides an 
amount to be held at the disposal of Talleyrand, designed for 
the Directory and ministers. The envoys decidedly refused 
to comply with this demand. Strong efforts were made to 
bring; over the ministers to the views of these agents, until the 
envoys declined holding any further communication with 
them. They remained several months in Paris, endeavoring 
to obtain a reception, when two of them, who were federalists, 
were ordered to leave France. E. Gerry, being a republican, 
was permitted to remain. 

The information of these proceedings excited general indig- 1798 
nation in the United States. Congress adopted vigorous 
measures. The treaty with France was declared to be no 
longer in force. Authority was given for capturing French 
armed vessels which might appear off the coast. Provision 
was made for raising a regular army, and for increasing it if 
occasion should require. Additional taxes were laid, and an 
alien law was passed for getting rid of French emissaries. 



340 mSTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Negotiations with France. Treaty of peace. 

By this law the President was authorized to compel suspected 
foreigners to leave the country. A minority in Congress op- 
posed these enactments, and opposition subsequently showed 
itself when preparations were made for carrying them into 
effect. George Washington was once more appointed com- 
mander-in-chief of the army. He expressed himself satisfied 
that every endeavor had been made to avert war, and accepted 
the office with great reluctance. 

It did not appear, however, that France had any idea of 
invading America. Several desperate engagements took place 
at sea. The French frigate L'Insurgent, of forty guns, was 
captured after a severe action by the Constellation^ of thirty- 
eight guns, commanded by Commodore Truxton. 
1798 I^ ^^s deemed necessary by the American government to 
send cruisers to the West Indies for the protection of the 
commerce of the United States. Many French vessels were 
captured by these, others were injured, and one arrived in 
port in a sinking condition. In some instances a large part 
of the crew was either killed or wounded, generally of the 
defeated party, while the victors lost but comparatively few. 
Two American vessels were never heard of after sailing, and 
it is supposed they foundered at sea. 

The French Directory, by this time, had become desirous 
of peace, and made overtures for a renewal of negotiations. 
The President appointed Oliver Ellsworth, Patrick Henry 
and William Yan Murray envoys to Paris. On their arrival, 
they found that the Directory had fallen, and Bonaparte had 
succeeded to the authority. The envoys were promptly ac- 
credited, and a treaty of peace was concluded, which was 
duly ratified by both parties in the autumn of the year 1800, 

While these negotiations were pending, the earthly career 
of the illustrious Washington terminated. He died at his 



JOHN ADAMS's ADMINISTRATION. 341 

Death of Washington. 

residence at Mount Vernon, on the 14tli of Twelfth month, 1799 
(Dec.,) 1799, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, after an 
illness of one day, of inflammation of the throat, produced 
by a cold. When the information reached Congress, much 
emotion was manifest. In the House of Representatives, one 
of the members proposed an adjournment, saying that "after 
receiving intelligence of a national calamity so heavy and af- 
flicting," they were illy fitted for any public business. Both 
Houses adjourned until the next day. 

On again assembling, the House of Representatives resolved 
'' that the speaker's chair be shrouded with black, and that 
the members and officers of the House wear black during the 
session ; " also that a committee, in connection with one from 
the Senate, be appointed to consider " the most suitable manner 
of paying honor to the memory of the man, first in war, first in 
peace, and first in the hearts of his fellow citizens." 

In an address to the President on the occasion, the Senate 
wrote as follows. " This event, so distressing to all our fel- 
low citizens, must be peculiarly heavy to you, who have long 
been associated with him in deeds of patriotism. Permit us, 
sir, to mingle our tears with yours. On this occasion, it is 
manly to weep. To lose such a man, at such a crisis, is 
no common calamity to the world. Our countr/ mourns a 
father. The Almighty Disposer of human events has taken 
from us our greatest benefactor and ornament. It becomes 
us to submit with reverence to Him who ' maketh darkness 
his pavilion.' " " Let his countrymen consecrate the memo- 
ry of the heroic general, the patriotic statesman and the vir- 
tuous sage. Let them teach their children never to forget 
that the fruits of his labors and his example are their inherit- 
ance." 

Marks of afl^iction were exhibited throughout the United 
29» 



342 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Thomas Jefiferson elected President. 

States, and in every part of the country funeral orations 
were delivered. 
1800 Public buildings having been erected, the officers of gov- 
ernment removed during this year to Washington ; and in 
Eleventh month, (Nov.,) Congress met at the new seat of 
government for the first time. 

The term for which John Adams was elected President 
bein*'- about to expire, another opportunity was afforded for 
a warm contest between the federal and republican parties. 
The latter party had of late been gaining ground, as some of 
the acts of the present adm.inistration had been unpopular. 
The expenditure of money for building a navy had caused 
dissatisfaction, as well as the alien and sedition laws. The 
latter of these enactments provided that the authors and pub- 
lishers of false and malicious accusations against the Presi- 
dent and members of Congress, should be prosecuted and 
punished. But the impression that the federal party enter- 
tained opinions less favorable to liberty than the republi- 
cans, as well as their suspected partiality for Great Britain 
and coldness toward France, had perhaps the most influence. 
The candidates of the federalists for President and Vice- 
President were John Adams and Charles C. Pinckney. 
Those of the republicans were Thomas Jefferson and Aaron 
Burr. The latter two received a majority, and each an equal 
number of the electoral votes. By the Constitution, the se- 
lection of one of these for President conserjuently devolved 
on the House of Eepresentatives. The federalists regarding 
Thomas Jefferson as more uncompromising in his hostility to 
their views, gave their votes to Aaron Burr. It was therefore 
not until the thirty-fiftli ballot that the republicans succeeded 
in electing Thomas Jefferson. Aaron Burr consequently 
became Vice-President. The inauguration took place on the 
4th of Third month, (March,) 1801. 



Jefferson's administration. 343 

Measures of the new administration. 

The control of the government was now transferred to the 1801 
republican party. At the next session of Congress, by the 
recommendation of the Presdient, the judiciary department 
was re-organized. By the change, twelve judges of the 
Supreme Court, recently appointed, lost their offices. The 
army and navy were reduced, and many of the government 
offices abolished. These and other retrenchments in the ex- 
penditures of the nation, enabled Congress to suppress the 
internal taxes, ab the same time that provision was made for 
gradually paying off the public debt, leaving no more in the 
treasury than sufficient for the wants of the government. An 
overflowing treasury was pronounced by the democrats of that 
day as detrimental to the interests of republicanism. 

During the year 1801, a second census of the people was 
completed, showing an increase in population in ten years, of 
nearly one million four hundred thousand. It now amounted 
to more than five millions and three hundred thousand. The 
exports had increased from the value of nineteen to ninety- 
four millions of dollars, and the revenue from nearly five 
millions to about thirteen millions of dollars. This prosper- 
ity must be attributed to the liberal institutions of the coun- 
try, which, were it not that color formed an exception, might 
be said to secure equal privileges to all the citizens. It is 
deeply to be regretted that these privileges were not made 
universal. 

In the following year, the State of Ohio was admitted into 1802 
the Union. It was previously a part of the northwestern 
territory, from which slavery had been prohibited by an act 
of the continental congress in 1787. Aware of the blight- 
ing influence of that iniquitous system, they resolved that it 
should be excluded from all the territory northwest of the 
Ohio. This is one great cause of the unparalleled increase 



344 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Prosperity of Ohio. Slave labor in Kentucky. 

in wealth and population of that fertile region, while Ken- 
tucky, tilled by the labor of the slave, and otherwise possess- 
ing equal advantages, has fallen so far behind the States lying 
north of the Ohio river. In ISO 3 the population of Ohio 
was seventy-six thousand ; in thirty years from the date of its 
first settlement, the number of its inhabitants exceeded half 
a million. Tennessee, previously a part of North Carolina, 
was admitted into the Union in 1796. 
1803 The difficulty which had arisen in the choice of a President, 
by the House of Representatives, after the last election, led to 
a change in the Constitution, requiring that the individuals 
designed for the respective offices of President and Vice-Presi- 
dent, should be so designated by the electors. Formerly he 
who received the greatest number of votes became President, 
and he who had the nest number, Vice-President. The meas- 
ure was frequently debated in the session which commenced 
this year, but did not receive the requisite majority of two 
thirds until 1804, when it became a law. 

By the general treaty of peace in Europe in 1801, Spain 
re-transferred Louisiana to France, after having; held it in 
possession since its cession by France in 17G2. Napoleon, 
then first consul, had fitted out an expedition to reestablish 
slavery in St. Domingo, after which the array was to take 
possession of Louisiana. 

The United States could not remain passive, and see this 
transfer made to so powerful a nation. The President wrote 
to the American envoy at Paris, stating the reasons for 
objecting to the change, and proposing to open negotiations 
for acquiring it by purchase. He considered that New Or- 
leans^ through which " three-eighths of our territory must pass 
to market," could not be possessed by impetuous France, 
with the same prospect of quiet as by Spain, and that the 



Jefferson's administration. 345 

Purchase of Louisiana. 

two countries could not long remain friends when placed 1803 
in this position. 

The right of deposit at New Orleans, conceded to tho 
United States by Spain, and from that period to this time 
freely enjoyed, was prohibited by the Spanish authorities in 
that place, in the autumn of 1802. This measure, which 
suspended the commerce of the Western States, produced 
much excitement, and many of the people were in favor of 
resorting immediately to arms. But the negotiations which 
were going on in France, were soon after brought to a close, 
and all cause of difficulty was removed. 

The army which had been sent to St. Domingo for the re- 
establishment of slavery in that island, had been entirely un- 
successful. The attempt gave rise to one series of those cruel 
massacres at which humanity revolts, and resulted in the in- 
dependence of the colony. Having tasted for a few years 
the sweets of freedom, the blacks became desperate in the 
enforcement of their rights. Napoleon, defeated in this in- 
stance, and fearing a breach with England, and perhaps his 
inability to retain the province of Louisiana, consented to its 
sale. The funds of the nation, moreover, were nearly ex- 
hausted by her recent wars. In 1803, a treaty was concluded, 
transferring to the United States, for the sum of fifteen mil- 
lions of dollars, that extensive region, embracing all territory 
owned by this country, west of the Mississippi, previously to 
the Mexican war, including the present States of Louisiana, 
Arkansas, Missouri and Iowa. This cession gave to the 
United States the entire control of one of the noblest rivers 
in the world. 

To obtain an accurate knowledge of the newly acquired 
region, with its geographical and mineral features, an expe- 
dition was fitted out to proceed across the Rocky Mountains 



;i4«3 UISTOIIY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

^Expedition of Lewis and Clarke. 

to the Pacific Ocean, under the commaud of Captains Lewis 
and Clarke, They were directed to explore the Missouri 
from its confluence with the Mississippi to its source, and 
after crossing the mountains to proceed down the first naviga- 
ble river they should meet with, to the ocean. 
1804 The party consisted of forty-fivo persons. In Fifth month, 
(May,) 1804, they embarked in three boats, two of them 
being open, the other halfdecked, at a point near the 
junction of the Mississippi and Missouri. They first sailed 
up the Missouri to the great falls of that river, a distance of 
ten or eleven hundred miles in a direct line, and nearly three 
thousand by water, on account of the very winding course of 
the river. They then performed the difficult task of crossing 
the mountains, and after examining various streams, they 
reached the Columbia. The course of this river they fol- 
lowed for upwards of six hundred miles, which brought them 
to the Pacific in Eleventh month, (Nov.,) 1805, the preced- 
ing winter months having been passed in the Indian country, 
between the Missouri and Yellow Stone rivers. The climate 
of the different regions through which they passed was ex- 
ceedingly various. In 47*^ of latitude, the thermometer fre- 
quently stood at 20" below zero, and was at times still lower. 
In the summer in latitude 45°, an entry is made in the jour- 
nal, of the thermometer at 90*^. The land is described as 
generally rich, with more of pasturage than extensive forests. 
Among the trees were the aspen and the pine, and the wild 
grape abounded. 

Some interesting and remarkable animals were discovered 
by this expedition, among which were the prong-horned ante- 
lope and swift fox. The former was so remarkable for its fleet- 
ness, that while Captain Lewis was passing a few hundred 
yards toward a ridge on which seven of them were stationed, 



Jefferson's administration. 347 

Animals. The grizzly bear. 

they had fled to a distance of three miles, whence he inferred ISOt 
their speed to be equal to that of the most celebrated race 
horse. But this swiftness, great as it was, was far exceeded 
by that of the swift fox, which could pass the antelope with 
ease, and the celerity of whose motion was so great, that it 
was compared to the flight of a bird along the ground, or to 
an indistinct line drawn rapidly along the surface. 

Large herds of deer, elk, buflfalo and antelopes were ob- 
served, as well as many wolves. The most formidable ani- 
mal encountered was the grizzly bear, which is scarcely 
equalled in any country in its fierceness and tenacity of life. 
The lives of six hunters of the party were greatly endangered 
by an encounter with one of these animals. Although he 
had been repeatedly shot, and his shoulder-blade broken, 
they were closely pursued, and two of them were compelled 
to jump down a perpendicular bank of twenty feet, into the 
river. The bear followed, and had nearly overtaken one of 
them, when he was killed by a shot from the shore. On ex- 
amination it was found that eight balls had passed through 
his body in different directions. 

The country was occupied by scattered tribes of Indians, 
who were friendly to the travellers. Their numbers appeared 
to be decreasing, in consequence of the ravages of the 
small-pox, the use of spirituous liquors, and their almost con- 
stant state ot warfare. 

The Great Falls of the Missouri are described as highly 
magnificent and picturesque. They extend for a length of 
nearly twelve miles, the river varying in width from three 
hundred to six hundred yards. The principal fall is eighty 
feet, with perpendicular cliffs on either side, one hundred feet 
high. The irregular and projecting rocks cause the spray to 
be thrown in high columns of various shapes, which, when 



348 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Return of the expedition. 

1805 illumined by the sun, form an exquisitely beautiful sight. 
By a succession of smaller falls and of sleep rapids, the river 
descends three hundred and eighty-four feet. Above the 
falls, the river is quite smooth, and herds of buffalo were seen 
feeding on the plains. 

The journey across the mountains, with all the assistance 
the party could procure from the Indians, who were very 
friendly, was extremely arduous. The steep and stony 
ascent, with the difficulty of procuring provisions, rendered 
their progress slow. The weather was cold ; during the night 
of the 21st of Eighth month, (Aug.,) water froze to the 
depth of one-fourth of an inch. Crossing the mountains 
occupied seven weeks from the time they left their canoes on 
the Missouri, until they embarked again on the west side of 
the mountains in canoes of their own makins;. 

The Columbia was occasionally broken into rapids, around 
which the travellers were obliged to carry their canoes. On 
the 7th of Eleventh month, (Nov.,) they caught the first 
view of the ocean. Their delight can scarcely be conceived ; 
they had reached the goal, and were rewarded for their toils. 
It was during the rainy season, and they encamped for the 
winter. 

The natives west of the mountains are described as 
more mild and gentle than those on the eastern side. They 
were not unacquainted with white men, as British*and Ameri- 
can vessels frequently stop on the coast, for the purchase of 
furs. 

As soon as the weather admitted, the party explored the 
neighborhood, anxious to return home. Having accomplished 
the object of the expedition, they re-crossed the mountains 
and again descended the IMissouri. They were so delighted 
at once more beholding a trace of civilization, that when they 



Jefferson's administration. 349 



War with Tripoli. 



saw, for the first time, cows feeding, they almost involuntarily 1806 
shouted for joy. They arrived at Fort Louis, on the Missis- 
sippi, on the 23d of Ninth month, (Sept.,) 1806, after an 
absence of about twenty-eight months, and having been given 
up as lost. 

Since the year 1801, war had existed between this govern- 
ment and Tripoli, one of the Barbary States. The bashaw 
of Tripoli complained of partiality by the United States 
toward the rulers of Algiers and Tunis, and of less respect- 
ful treatment, he having received a smaller amount of 
m.oney than they, to secure the friendship of the Tripolitans. 
He therefore made further demands, with which this govern- 
ment did not comply, and war was the consequence. Early 
in the summer of 1801, a squadron, consisting of four ves- 
sels, was sent to the Mediterranean, for the protection of the 
commerce of the United States. Soon after their arrival, a 
Tripolitan ship of war was captured. She made a vigorous 
resistance, and did not strike her colors until after sustaining 
a cannonade for three hours, during which twenty o 
her crew were killed and thirty wounded. A Greek 
ship was also taken, which had on board some Tripolitan 
soldiers. 

In 1802, Congress passed an act for the protection of the 
commerce and seamen of the United States, which authorized 
the seizure of all vessels and goods belon^ng to the bashaw 
of Tripoli or his subjects. They also empowered the Presi- 
dent to commission privateers for annoying the commerce o 
Tripoli. In the course of the year, six vessels were equipped 
and sent out, which it was thought would be sufficient to 
compel the Tripolitans to sue for peace. 

The port of Tripoli was blockaded. During the blockade 
a large ship was attacked by the Americans, and after a 
30 



350 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

American squadron in the Mediterranean. 

contest of about an hour, the Tripolitan ship blew up with a 
tremendous explosion, destroying all the men that remained 
on board, some having previously escaped to the shore. 

1803 In 1803, another squadron was sent to the Mediterranean, 
under command of Commodore Preble. While cruising off 
Tripoli, the frigate Philadelphia, in pursuit of a small vessel, 
advanced too near the shore and grounded. Every effort 
made to get her off, proved unavailing. The Tripolitan gun- 
boats immediately came out to attack her, and after a combat 
of five hours, the Philadelphia was compelled to surrender. 
The officers were taken as prisoners of war ; the crew were 
treated as slaves. The Philadelphia was soon afterward 
retaken and burned by Lieutenant Stephen Decatur. 

1804 About midsummer, all the American force in the Mediter- 
renean was concentrated before Tripoli. The number of 
men on board the different vessels was one thousand and 
sixty. The batteries on shore were defended by twenty-five 
thousand Arabs and Turks. An unsuccessful attempt had 
been made to ransom the American prisoners, all that could 
be effected being the privilege of sending them supplies. 

On the 3d of Eighth month, (Aug.,) the Tripolitan ship-> 
ping and batteries were attacked. The action commenced by ' 
throwing shells into the town. The contest was very severe 
on both sides. Several of the gun-boats of the Tripolitans 
were soon driven on the rocks ; three of their vessels wer# 
captured. Before night, the American fleet retired wim 
their prizes. -? 

Two other attacks were made in the course of the montl, 
in which the town, as well as the batteries, sustained mulh 
injury. A plan was also formed for sending a fire-ship ir^o 
the harbor, to destroy the shipping, and throw shells into tfce 
town. One hundred barrels of powder and a hundred ^d 



Jefferson's administration. 351 

Treaty of peace. 

jBfty shells were placed in the hold, and a fusee provided by 1804 
which the vessel might be fired, and the crew have time to 
escape. The vessel was sent at night, and was expected to 
enter the harbor without being discovered. Before she 
gained the place of destination, however, she suddenly blew 
up with a terrible explosion, and in the morning, not a trace 
of her was to be seen. All on board had doubtless perished. 

During these occurrences, a plan was formed by the United 
States consul at Tunis, for cooperating with an elder brother 
of the reigning bashaw of Tripoli, who had been driven from 
the throne, and by restoring to him his rights, to establisli 
peace for the United States. An interview was obtained with 
him, an army of adventurers was collected, and the Tripoli- 
tan territory invaded. The city of Derne was taken. 

Alarmed at the progress and success of this force, the 
reigning bashaw offered more favorable terms of peace than 
any yet proposed. These, with some stipulations, were ac- 
cepted by the authorized agent of the United States in Sixth 
month; (June,) 1805, and subsequently ratified by the Presi- 
dent and Senate. Sixty thousand dollars were to be given 
as a ransom for the American prisoners, and the forces of the 
United States were to be withdrawn from Derne. The pro- 
vision was inserted that the wife and children of the ex-bashaw, 
who had been detained for years, should be restored to him. 
Some of the captives, liberated by this treaty, had realized 
e sufferinf^s of barbarian servitude for more than eisfhteen 
onths. 

During the years 1803 and 1804, a considerable accession 
of territory was made to the United States. The tribe of 
Kaskaskia Indians, having been very much reduced in num- 
bers, by wars and other causes, were unable to defend them- 
selves against the neighboring tribes. They occupied the 



V 



352 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Hamilton and Burr. 

1804 fertile district lying between the Illinois and Ohio rivers. 
This, with the exception of a sufficiency to support hy agri- 
culture the few who remained of their tribe, they transferred 
to the United States, who agreed to extend protection to 
them, and to assist them annually in money, implements of 
agriculture and other articles. 

In 1804, the Delaware Indians relinquished, for a sum of 
money, their claim to the district occupied by them, which 
was situated east of the Wabash, extending three hundred 
miles up the Ohio. 

This year, Thomas Jefferson was again elected President, 
and George Clinton of New York, Vioe-President, the new 
termcommencingonthe4thof Third month, (March,) 1805. 

1805 Colonel Burr, the former Vice-President, became a candi- 
date for the office of governor of New York. Alexander 
Hamilton, believing him to be an unprincipled politician, 
openly opposed his election ; and certain offensive publica- 
tions appearing in one of the public journals, Burr accused 
Hamilton of being the author. This, Hamilton neither 
acknowledged nor denied. The result was a challenge to a 
duel from Burr. They met at Hoboken in New Jersey, and 
Hamilton was killed. His death caused deep sensations of 
regret throughout the country. By yielding to false honor, 
the nation was deprived of a valuable citizen, of eminent 
talents and great popularity. 

1806 Burr now entirely lost his political influence. A career of 
ambition opened to him in the south-west. He purchased 
and built boats to descend the Ohio river, with the avowed 
object of establishing a settlement in Louisiana. Incautious 
disclosures from his associates, however, and other circum- 
stances, excited the suspicion that he was either aiming to 
get possession of New Orleans, and to erect into a separate 



i 



Jefferson's administration. 353 

Capture of American vessels. British orders in council. 

government the south-western portion of the Union, or else to 1806 
invade the Spanish province of Mexico. He was therefore 
watched by the agents of the government, and arrested. 
Sufficient evidence not appearing to convict him, he was dis- 
charged, although never acquitted in the minds of the 
people. 

During the wars which raged in Europe subsequently to 
the French revolution, the Americans derived great advantage 
to their commerce by their neutral position. While France 
had become preeminent on land, England ruled the sea, and 
any other flag than hers was seldom seen upon the ocean, 
excepting that of the United States, whose neutral position 
gained for her citizens this advantage, and threw into their 
hands the carrying trade between the West Indies and the 
ports of Europe. 

But England could not be satisfied to have American mer- 
chants grow rich by so lucrative a commerce. The harvest 
was too great to remain unmolested. American vessels carry- 
ing to Europe the produce of French colonies, were captured 
by British cruisers and condemned as lawful prizes. In 1806, 
several European ports under the control of France, were 
declared by British orders in council, to be in a state of 
blockade, although not invested by British cruisers. This 
plan of blockading ports has since been styled paper blockades. 
American vessels attempting to enter these ports were cap- 
tured and condemned. 

The merchants of the United States complained loudly to 
their government of these outrages. But this was not the 
only difficulty. England had never been able to man her 
numerous fleets by voluntary enlistments, and had resorted to 
the practice of impressment, or seizing her subjects wherever 
found, and compelling them to serve on her ships of war. 
30* 



354 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Impressment of American seamen. First steamboat. 

1807 She had for some years claimed the right of searching for her 
subjects on board of neutral vessels, while traversing the 
ocean, and had actually seized sailors from American vessels, 
on the ground of their being British subjects. In this way, 
citizens of the United States were dragged from their friends, 
and compelled to fight with nations at peace with their own. 
Washington, Adams and Jefferson had remonstrated against 
this outrage, but without effect. It not only continued, but 
increased.* 

In 1807, the power of steam was first applied to propelling 
boats, by Robert Fulton, a resident of New York city. Under 
his auspices, a rude boat was constructed, and the experiment 
was first made on the Hudson river. The boat left the city 
amid the hopes and fears of many of the citizens, and reached 
Clermont, a distance of one hundred and ten miles, in twenty- 
four hours ; thence to Albany, forty miles, in eight hours, 
or at the rate of five miles an hour. The fare from New 
York to Albany was ten dollars. 

Early in the summer of 1807, the feelings of the people 
were much exasperated by an attack made on the American 
frigate Chesapeake, near the coast of the United States. 
The British consul at Norfolk had demanded the surrender 
of three seamen, who had entered the United States service 
after deserting from a British ship. On investigation, the 
men were found to be American citizens, who had been im- 



*It is but just to England to state that the higher wages offered by 
America, was a great temptation to British seamen to desert. This 
gave offence to Great Britain. In America it was asserted that a set- 
tler, having been admitted to the privileges of citizenship, had a right 
to fight with the country of his adoption ; while in England it was 
contended tliat allegiance to Great Britain could not thus be relin- 
quished. 



JEFFERSON S ADMINISTRATION. 



Hostile feelings toward England. Berlin Decree. 

pressed by tlie British, and subsequently had escaped from 1807 
their service. They were therefore not delivered. A few 
weeks afterward, the Chesapeake, on board of which these 
men were engaged, sailed for the Mediterranean. She passed 
through a British squadron, stationed on the coast, without 
molestation ; but some hours after, was overtaken by the 
Leopard, whose captain had orders to take from the Chesa- 
peake the three men said to be deserters. On the refusal of 
the American commander to allow his crew to be mustered, a 
heavy fire was commenced, which killed three men and 
wounded eighteen more. Being unprepared for action, the 
Chesapeake struck her colors. She was then boarded by the 
British, and four men were carried off. The Chesapeake, being 
much injured, returned to port. 

The distinctions of party were forgotten in the indignation 
which was felt on account of this outrage. Public meetings 
were held, and resolutions were adopted to support the gov- 
ernment in any measures taken to obtain redress. The 
President issued a proclamation prohibiting all British ships 
of war from remaining in or entering the harbors of the 
United States. He also sent instructions to the American 
minister at London, to demand satisfaction for the insult, and 
summoned Congress to meet. 

This act of aggression was disavowed by the British 
government. No reparation was, however, made, and the 
officer engaged in the transaction, was soon afterward 
appointed to a more important station. The occurrence, 
therefore, served to strengthen the hostile feelings already 
excited toward England. 

The commerce of the United States also suffered from the 
vindictive feelings of the French. In Eleventh month, 
(Nov.,) 1806, Napoleon, now Emperor, had issued a decree 



356 nisTOKY OP the united states. 

The embargo. Milan Decree. 

1807 at Berlin, declaring the British Islands in a state of blockade. 
All neutral vessels attempting to trade with them, were 
consequently exposed to capture. The introduction of Eng- 
lish goods to the continent Of Europe, was prohibited, even in 
neutral vessels, and the ports of France were closed against 
any vessel that should touch at an English port. 

The British government having avowed its determination 
to adopt measures in retaliation of the French decree, and 
continuing to assert the right of search and impressment, the 
President recommended to Congress that the seamen, ships 
and merchandise of the United States should be detained in 
port to preserve them from the dangers which threatened 
them at sea. An embargo was consequently decreed, in 
Twelfth month, (Dec.,) 1807, and all merchant vessels were 
called home. 

Shortly after the passage of the embargo law, information 
was received that Great Britain had prohibited neutrals from 
trading with France, or any of her allies, excepting on condi- 
tion of paying to her a tax or tribute. In a few weeks, Napo- 
leon's famous Milan Decree followed. In this he declared 
that every neutral vessel submitting to pay the tribute should 
be confiscated, if ever afterward found in his ports, or taken 
by his cruisers. Thus, between the two rival nations, almost 
every American vessel sailing on the ocean, was liable to 
capture, and it was in vain that the United States remon- 
strated. 

1808 The embargo was rigidly enforced by the government, and 
the commerce of the country, recently so flourishing, was now 
reduced to a coasting trade between the States. Hence the 
people began to turn their attention toward the production of 
those manufactures, which, until now, had been imported 
from England. When the law was carried into operation, 



Madison's administration. 357 

Change in the embargo law. 

much opposition was felt toward it, although resolutions, 1808 
passed at public meetings all over the country, had urged 
the adoption of efficient measures against the belligerent 
parties. In New England the merchants severely felt the 
effects of the law, and there the strongest opposition show^ed 
itself. The southern and western States were more agricul- 
tural. The administration became unpopular in New Eng- 
land, and Massachusetts recommended the repeal of the 
law. 

In the autumn of 1808, an election for chief magistrate 
again took place. Thomas Jefferson, believing with Wash- 
ington, that no person should hold the office for more than 
eight years, had signified his intention of retiring at the close 
of his second term. James Madison was now elected to the 
Presidency, and inaugurated on the 4th of Third month, 
(March,) 1809. George Clinton was reelected Vice- 
President. 

In Third month, (March,) Congress repealed the embargo, 1809 
and substituted in its place an act prohibiting all intercourse 
with both France and England ; a provision being inserted in 
the act, that if either of those nations should revoke her 
hostile edicts, the law should cease to be in force with respect 
to that nation. 

This change in the law was thought by the British govern- 
ment to afford a favorable opportunity to open negotiations for 
the adjustment of the difficulties between the two countries. 
Accordingly David M. Erskine, the British minister at 
Washington, proposed an arrangement on the following 
terms : That reparation should be made for the outrage on 
the frigate Chesapeake ; that the orders in council should be 
withdrawn, so far as respected the United States, provided 
the latter country would repeal the prohibition of intercourse 



358 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Non-intercourse law expires. New act of Congress. 

1809 with Great Britain; and that an envoy extraordinary should 
be sent from England, with power to conclude a treaty on all 
the points of diiference between the two countries. These 
terms being accepted by the President, a proclamation was 
issued, suspending the non-intercourse with England, after 
the 10th of Sixth month, (June,) the day on which the 
orders in council were to be revoked. 

The British government refused to ratify the proceedings 
of their minister, on the ground that he had exceeded his 
instructions. This information was sent to the American 
government, and the British minister was recalled. The 
President consequently declared the non-intercourse act again 
in force ; and the relations between the two nations continued 
on their former footing, excepting that those vessels which 
had left the United States relying on the negotiations of the 
British minister, were not to be endangered. 

In the autumn, Francis James Jackson, the new minister 
from England, arrived. He was coldly received. Popular 
prejudice was strong against him, and all attempts to negotiate 
failed. He was shortly afterward recalled. 

1810 ^^^ non-intercourse law expired in Fifth month, (May,) 
1810. An act of Congress was therefore passed, which pro- 
vided that, if either Great Britain or France should revoke 
its edicts before a stipulated day in the following year, the 
restrictions imposed by the non-intercourse act should be 
discontinued, in relation to such nation. If the other nation 
should not, within three months afterward, revoke its edicts, 
then the non-intercourse law should be revived respecting that 
nation. 

Napoleon had declared that his edicts were meant as re- 
taliatory toward Great Britain, and that they formed part of 
a plan to wrest from her the power to tyrannize upon the 



Madison's administration. 359 

Trade -with France restored. British orders in council enforced. 

ocean. The aet of Congress having been communicated to 1810 
the government of France, her minister addressed a note to 
the minister of the United States at Paris, declaring that the 
decrees of Berlin and Milan were revoked. The revocation 
was to take effect on the Ist of Eleventh month, (Nov.,) fol- 
lowing. He also stated that this measure was taken, in full 
confidence that the act of Congress would be enforced against 
England, if she did not revoke her orders in council. 

The President consequently issued a proclamation, announc- 
ing that all restrictions on the trade of the United States 
with France had ceased. An appeal was then made to Eng- 
land to revoke her orders in council ; but the ministry 
objected that the French decrees could not be considered as 
repealed, a letter from the minister of state not being sujffi- 
cient authority for that purpose. She therefore persisted in 
enforcing the orders. 

Congress then renewed the non-inteicourse law against 
that country, to continue in force until she should revoke or 
modify her edicts, and the President of the United States 
should announce the fact by proclamation. 

In order to carry out the orders in council, Great Britain 1811 
had stationed ships of war before the principal harbors of the 
United States. American merchantmen, departing from these 
ports, or returning to them, were boarded and searched. 
Many sailors were impressed. With the ships of England in 
the waters of this country, and for such an object, it was 
scarcely probable that no actual collision should take place 
between the vessels of the respective countries. Commodore 
Rogers, of the United States frigate President, while cruis- 
ing off the capes of Virginia, discovered a vessel which 
appeared to be a man-of-war. He sailed in pursuit, hailed 
and inc[uired her name. Instead of returning an answer, 



360 UISTOllY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Preparations for war with England. Indian confederacy. 

1811 the commander of the other vessel hailed, and a shot was 
soon fired which struck the mainmast of the President. The 
fire was returned, and continued for a few minutes, when 
finding the guns of his opponent almost silenced, Commodore 
Rogers desisted. On hailing again, an answer was given, 
that the vessel was the British sloop of war, Little Belt, of 
eighteen guns. Thirty-two of her men were killed or 
wounded during the action, and the vessel was much in- 
jured. 

The arrival of a British minister in the summer of 1811, 
availed nothing toward an adjustment of the dijfficulties. 
He could give no assurance that his government was dis- 
posed to repeal the orders in council, or to make an arrange- 
ment on the subject of impressment. On the contrary, the 
orders were rigorously enforced, and now that a free trade 
with France was restored, many American vessels, laden with 
rich cargoes destined for the ports of that country, fell into 
the hands of British cruisers. 

There seemed a strong prospect that war would soon be 
declared between the two countries, and preparations were 
accordingly going forward. To meet the expenses, Congress 
authorized the President to borrow, on the credit of the 
United States, a sum not exceeding eleven millions of dollars. 
The whole amount was advanced by individuals and corporate 
bodies, at an interest of six per cent. 

For several years the Indian tribes residing in the Indiana 
territory, had shown symptoms of hostility toward the settlers 
on the north-western frontier. A confederacy was formed, at 
the head of which were Tecumseh, their chief, and his 
brother. The latter pretended to be a prophet, and preached 
to the Indians that all their disasters were owing to their 
having forsaken the simple habits of their ancestors. Several 



Madison's administration. 361 

Tecumseh. Battle of Tippecanoe. 

different tribes were united, and a spirit of animosity was 1811 
stirred up against the white inhabitants. Tecumseh main- 
tained that the country belonged to the red men in common, 
and that no portion of it could be sold without the consent of 
all ; that no one tribe had any more right to sell its land 
than it had to darken the bright rays of the sun. 

In the autumn of 1811, the outrages committed by 
Tecumseh and his followers, induced the government to send 
General Harrison, then governor of the Indiana territory, 
with a small force, to negotiate, if possible, but to fight if no 
redress could be obtained. Arrived at Tippecanoe, their 
principal town, a deputation of the chiefs met him.* An 
agreement was made that neither party should commence hos- 
tilities before the next day, when a conference should be held. 

In violation of this engagement, the American camp was 
furiously attacked before daybreak. Not feeling confidence 
in the promises of the Indians, the Americans had slept on 
their arms, and made a vigorous resistance. Great slaughter 
took place on both sides. The Indians were finally dispersed. 
At the time of this battle, Tecumseh was in the south, en- 
deavoring to induce other Indians to join the confederacy. 
Having burned Tippecanoe, and laid waste the surrounding 
country, from which his opponents were obliged to retreat, 
Harrison returned to the settlements. 



* At the commencement of this interview, when Tecumseh first 
came into the presence of General Harrison, the latter directed a chair 
to be handed him, which was done, with the remark of the American 
interpreter, "Your father desires you to sit down." The immediate 
reply of this remarkable chieftain is characteristic of his eloquence 
and of his proud spirit. Raising his hand aloft, he said, "il/y father ? 
The sun is my father, and the earth my mother, and on her bosom I 
will repose ; " at the same time taking his seat upon the ground in the 
usual Indian mode. 

SI 



362 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Mission of John Henry, 

1812 Early in 1812, John Henry, a resident of Canada, gave 
information to the Secretary of State, that in 1809 he had been 
employed by the governor-general of Canada, as a secret 
agent in the United States. Documents and papers were 
submitted by him, which were laid by the President before 
Congress. From these it appeared that he had been instruct- 
ed to proceed to Boston, to confer with those who were 
opposed to the restrictions laid by the American government 
on commerce ; to obtain information of the true state of affairs 
in that part of the Union, which from various causes would 
possess great influence and probably lead the other States ; 
and to observe the state of public opinion with regard to a war 
with England. He was also to learn whether the Federalists, 
in case they gained the ascendency, would exert their influence 
to bring about a separation of the Union ; and in case of such 
an event, whether they would look to England for assistance, 
or be disposed to enter into a connection with that nation. 
The mission of Henry was entirely unsuccessful; and the 
British government consequently refused the required remu- 
neration. He therefore made a full disclosure of the facts to 
the American government, and received for the information 
the sum of fifty thousand dollars. 

This intrigue removed still farther the prospect of an ami- 
cable adjustment with England ; and preparations for war 
continued. On the 20th of Fifth month, (May,) a sloop-of-war 
arrived from London with the intelligence that no prospect 
existed of a change in the measures of Grreat Britain toward 
this country. On the 1st of Sixth month, (June,) the Presi- 
dent sent a message to Congress, in which he set forth the 
various injuries received from that nation, and recommended 
for their early deliberation, the question whether the United 
States should continue passive under these progressive usurpa- 
tions, or whether force should be opposed to force. 



Madison's administration. 863 

Declaration of war. 

The message was seriously considered with closed doors. 1812 
On the 18th, an act was passed declaring war with the 
United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland. For the 
prosecution of the war the President was authorized to issue 
treasury notes to an amount not exceeding five millions .of 
dollars, and additional duties were imposed on all goods, 
wares and merchandise imported from foreign places. 

The declaration was condemned by a considerable portion of 
citizens, who believed that an adjustment of all disputes might 
have been obtained by further negotiations, and that such a 
step was unwise at this time, as the nation was not prepared 
for war. Many believed, also, that the expenses and 
sufferings which war must occasion, would more than coun- 
terbalance the advantages sought to be obtained. Decided 
opposition was made to it in the New England States, 
where much distress was occasioned by the suppression of 
their commerce. Several commercial cities protested against 
the measure, while in others the act was received with illumi- 
nations and rejoicings. A majority of the people were favor- 
able to the war. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

WAR OF 1812. 



Invasion of Canada. Eetreat of General Hull. 

1812 It is not designed to give a minute account of the three 
years' war with Great Britain. The time will come when 
such records shall have fallen from their present importance 
and, divested of all false glory, shall sink into insignificance 
before the truly noble achievements of humanity. 

The plan of operations at the commencement of the war, was 
to garrison and defend the seaboard, and to attack the British 
posts in Upper Canada, with the design of invading and con- 
quering Lower Canada. 

General William Hull, then governor of Michigan territory, 
received command of the army appropriated for the invasion of 
Canada. Having entered the province, he issued a procla- 
mation, offering peace and protection to such Canadians as 
should remain at home, but threatening extermination to those 
found in arms, associated with the Indians. Many joined his 
standard, or returned to their homes relying on his promise 
of protection. 

After considerable delay, and nothing special having been 
attempted, information was received that the post of Mackinaw 
had surrendered to a large body of British and Indians, who 
were marching south. General Hull immediately retreated 
to Detroit. Here he awaited the approach of a force of 
British and Indians superior to his own, from the fort at Mai- 
den, on the Detroit river. A white flag was hung out in 



WAR OP 1812. 365 



His surrender. Attack on Queenstown. 

token of a wish to capitulate, and Hull's whole force, the 1812 
fortress and the entire territory of Michigan, were surrendered 
to the British. 

The American troops had anticipated an easy victory, 
and were greatly indignant at the unexpected submission of 
General Hull. When released by an exchange of prisoners, 
the government brought him to trial by a court-martial in 
1814. He was sentenced to death for cowardice and neglect 
of duty, but subsequently pardoned in consideration of former 
services. 

The surrender of Michigan left the north-western frontier 
exposed to the incursions of the British and Indians. The 
neighboring States were alarmed, and nearly ten thousand 
volunteers, under the command of General William Henry 
Harrison, marched toward the territory of Michigan. Many 
difficulties were encountered, arising in part from the undis- 
ciplined state of the army, and winter set in without anything 
being accomplished, excepting incursions into the territory of 
the Indians, who, instigated by British agents, had generally 
become hostile. 

In Eleventh month, (Nov.,) an attack was made on Queens- 
town, in Upper Canada. The Americans were at first suc- 
cessful, and gained possession of the fort. It was, however, 
retaken by the British, after a severe engagement, and a 
heavy loss on both sides in killed and wounded. Of one 
thousand Americans who crossed into Canada, but few 
escaped. 

In the latter part of the same month a third invasion of 
Canada was attempted. An array of four thousand five hun- 
dred men was assembled, and a day fixed for their embarka- 
tion. The British appearing on the opposite shore of the 
Niagara, with a formidable force, the crossing of the troops 
was postponed, and finally abandoned for the season. 



8G6 HISTORY OP the united states. 

Naval victories. Orders in council revoked. 

1812 The operations of the American navy were more successful, 
and Britain's claim to the dominion of the ocean was entirely 
destroyed. The first of a series of victories was by Captain 
Hull, of the American frigate Constitution, over the British 
frigate Guerriere, which was reduced to a complete wreck in 
thirty minutes, every mast and nearly every spar being shot 
away. The Guerriere was burned, not being in a state to be 
conveyed to port. 

In Tenth month, (Oct.,) the sloop-of-war Frolic was cap- 
tured by Captain Jones, of the Wasp, after a hard-fought 
battle of forty-five minutes. The Wasp was subsequently 
taken by a British ship. In the same month, Captain Deca- 
tur, of the frigate United States, captured the Macedonian. 
One hundred and four of the British were killed or wounded 
during the engagement. 

In Twelfth month, (Dec.,) the British frigate Java was 
reduced to a wreck off the coast of Brazil, by the frigate Consti- 
tution, Captain Bainbridge, after an action of one hour, in 
which one hundred and sixty-one of her crew were either 
killed or wounded. 

The commerce also of the British suffered severely. Many 
British merchantmen were captured by the American navy ; 
but more were taken by privateers, which sailed from almost 
every port. These vessels were built with a view to rapid 
sailing, and were able not only to overtake the merchant ves- 
sels, but to escape from the frigates of the British. During 
the first seven months of the war, upwards of five hundred 
British merchant vessels were taken by privateers or by 
American cruisers. 

France had for some time withheld the formal announce- 
ment of the revocation of the decrees of Napoleon. When, 
however, that announcement took place, Britain revoked 



WAR OF 1812. 367 



Measures of Congress. General Harrison in Michigan. 

her orders in council, and proposed a suspension of hostilities. 1812 
The President demanded some effectual provision against the 
impressment of American seamen, which being declined, the 
war was continued. Tlais gave great offence to the federal 
party, who maintained their opposition to the war. They 
also declared it to be unconstitutional to employ the militia 
in offensive warfare ; and on this ground, the States of Mas- 
sachusetts and Connecticut had refused their proportion of 
men for the invasion of Canada. When Congress again met, 
resolutions were adopted, approving the President's course ; 
and in order to defray the expense of the war, bills were 
passed, authorizing a loan of sixteen millions of dollars, and 
empowering the President to issue treasury notes, to an 
amount not exceeding five millions of dollars. An appropri- 
ation of one hundred thousand dollars was made for estab- 
lishing a dock yard for the repair of vessels of war. 

In the autumn, the presidential election again took place. 
The anti-federalists, by their continued support of the Pres- 
ident, showed their approbation of his course in regard to 
the war. The federal party made a strong opposition, but 
James Madison was reelected to the office of President, and 
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, Vice-President. 

The desire of the citizens of the Western States to regain 
Michigan was so strong, that General Harrison determined to 
undertake a winter campaign. This led to much suffering on 
the part of the army, as the State of Michigan did not afford 
adequate supplies, and it was impossible, as General Harrison 
stated in one his letters to the administration, to get supplies 
forward " through a swampy wilderness of near two hundred 
miles, in wagons or on pack-horses," which also had to carry 
their own provision. The distress of the troops was great for 
want of clothing. 



368 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Americans attacked. Surrender. Massacre. 

1813 General Winchester was sent forward with a detachment 
to the rapids of the Miami, where he was directed to com- 
mence the building of huts, in order to deceive the British, 
and lead to the impression that the Americans were going 
into winter quarters. In pursuance of these instructions, he 
formed a fortified camp on an eminence surrounded by prai- 
ries. Soon afterward, he received an urgent call for assist- 
ance from the inhabitants of Frenchtown, on the river Raisin. 
They had been attacked by the British and Indians from 
Maiden, a British post in Canada on the Detroit river. Gen- 
eral Winchester marched toward Frenchtown, but before 
reaching it, the British had gained possession. They were 
assaulted and dispersed, with considerable slaughter. 

The Americans then encamped in an open lot, and but 
little caution was taken to guard against a surprise. Here 
they were attacked by British and Canadians with one thou- 
sand Indians, One wing of the army, consisting of one 
hundred and fifty men, was entirely unprotected. These 
were soon thrown into disorder, and in attempting to escape, 
were nearly all massacred by the Indians. One hundred 
men, sent to their relief, were also mostly killed. 

The conflict was maintained for some hours, when the 
Americans surrendered. The British soon afterward marched 
back to Maiden, leaving a few soldiers only, in charge of the 
wounded Americans, and no guard for the protection of the 
prisoners from the fury of the Indians. These accompanied 
their allies but a few miles toward Maiden, when they 
returned to Frenchtown, the" scene of the battle. At sun- 
rise on the succeeding day, a melancholy work of destruction 
commenced. The houses were set on fire in which the pris- 
oners were confined, and they generally perished in the 
flames. Some, in attempting to escape, were thrust back as 



WAR OP 1812. .^()0 



Siege of Fort Meigs. York attacked. 

they appeared at the windows, while others reached the 1813 
streets, there to encounter the tomahawk. 

The ensuing three months after this tragical event, were 
employed by General Harrison in fortifying his camp, which 
he named Fort Meigs. Here he was joined by reinforce- 
ments from Kentucky and Ohio. In the spring, General 
Proctor advanced toward Fort Meigs with a company of two 
thousand, British and Indians, and commenced preparations 
for a siege, General Harrison having refused to surrender. 
Soon afterward. General Clay, with twelve hundred Ken- 
tuckians, attacked the besiegers and drove them from their 
works. Eight hundred of the party, having dispersed in the 
woods in pursuit of the Indians, contrary to the order of 
their commander, were afterward obliged to surrender to 
these allies of the British. Only one hundred and fifty 
escaped ; the remainder were either slain or captured. 

The British having returned to Fort Meigs, the defence 
was continued ; but the Indians, unaccustomed to sieges, 
became discontented, and finally deserted. The British, see- 
ing no prospect of success, withdrew their forces to Maiden. 

In the latter part of Fourth month, (April,) an attack 
was made on York, the capital of Upper Canada, which re- 
sulted in the surrender of the British land and naval forces, 
and of the public stores. As the Americans approached the 
main fortifications, the magazine blew up with a tremendous 
explosion, sending among the troops large masses of stone 
and timber. Numbers were at once killed, and many more 
wounded ; the American commander, Gen. Pike, was so 
severely injured that he survived but a few hours. The 
approach of the Americans was only temporarily checked ; 
recovering from the shock, they pressed forward, and gained 
possession. 



370 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

British squadron in the Chesapeake. 

1813 Fort George, on the British side of the Niagara river, was 
soon after taken by the Americans. A detachment was also 
sent to cut off the retreat of the British forces, concentrated on 
Burlington Heights, at the head of Lake Ontario. The party 
was surprised by an attack at night ; some of the troops were 
taken prisoners, the remainder joined the Americans at Fort 
George. 

These operations diminished the force at Sackett's Harbor, 
at the other end of the lake. The British therefore seized 
the opportunity of making an attack on that post. The 
militia of the neighborhood were collected at the first alarm, 
but, with the regular troops, were compelled to retire after a 
short conflict, and poured upon their opponents a destructive 
fire as they withdrew. By a stratagem of the American 
commander, the British feared that the object of the Ameri- 
cans was to cut off their retreat. They therefore immediately 
reembarked, leaving most of their wounded and some pris- 
oners to the mercy of their enemies. 

While these events were passing in the north, a predatory 
war was carried on at the seaboard, by detachments from the 
navy of Great Britain. A squadron arrived in the Chesa- 
peake early in the spring, and one in the Delaware, about 
the same time. A demand being made on the inhabitants of 
Lewistown, in the State of Delaware, for supplies, it was 
promptly refused. The destruction of the town was threat- 
ened. The refusal being persisted in, a bombardment of the 
place was commenced. The firing was returned, and the 
cannonading continued for twenty-two hours. Being unable 
to effect anything in this way, many attempts were made to 
land, for the purpose of obtaining water. The boats, however, 
were repulsed by the militia, who assembled on the shore. 
Finding no advantage could be gained by remaining, the 



WAR OF 1812. 371 



Sacking and burning of towns. 



British burned some merchant vessels which were within 1813 
reach, and sailed for Bermuda. 

The squadron stationed in the Chesapeake was more pow- 
erful. Small vessels were captured, farm houses and country 
seats on the bay and rivers were plundered. The villages 
and towns were next attacked. Frenchtown, Havre de Grace, 
Fredericktown and Georgetown were sacked and burned. 
Norfolk and the villages in its immediate vicinity, were saved 
by the determined resistance of the militia. From these 
places the British were compelled to retreat, leaving behind 
them two hundred in killed, wounded and prisoners. 

After this disappointment, an attack was made on Hamp- 
ton, about eighteen miles from Norfolk. The militia made a 
strong resistance, but the British gained possession, and the 
town and inhabitants were abandoned to the brutal outrages of 
the soldiery. Some other towns were threatened, but no fur- 
ther attack was made, and the fleet proceeded southward, where 
the same system of plunder and devastation was pursued. 

The port of New London was also blockaded. The pro- 
ceedings of the squadron stationed in this place, were char- 
acterized with more humanity. The frigates United States 
and Macedonian were detained there in a state of inaction. 

In the north-west, an attack was made on Fort Stephenson, 
on the Sandusky river, by a large force of British and In- 
dians. The advancing parties were met by a very heavy fire, 
which committed so much destruction, that the assailants were 
dismayed and fled. 

The British and Americans had both been engaged in pre- 
paring a naval force to be employed on Lake Erie. Early in 
Ninth month, (Sept.,) nine vessels being constructed for the 
American service, they sailed from Erie, under the command 
of Commodore Perry, and soon encountered the British fleet. 
After a violent contest, the whole of the British squadron 



372 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Commodore Perry's victory. Death of Tecumseh. 

1813 surrendered. This victory occasioned great joy throughout 
the country, and had an important influence on the subsequent 
events of the war. 

Soon after the victory on Lake Erie, the British commander, 
at Maiden, anticipating the approach of the American forces 
to that place, abandoned it, and passing by Detroit, ascended 
the river Thames. The Americans under General Harrison 
pursued. They took possession of Maiden vyithout opposition, 
and on the 5th of Tenth month, (Oct.,) overtook the British 
army. A battle ensued, in which the British were defeated, 
and six hundred made prisoners. The Indians sustained a 
severe loss in the death of their celebrated leader, Tecumseh. 
This victory was the means of restoring all the posts that had 
been surrendered by General Hull. 

Extensive preparations were made during this season for an 
attack on Montreal. Various delays enabled the British to 
fortify the important posts on the St. Lawrence ; and in con- 
sequence of scarcity of provisions, sickness in the army, and 
a want of unanimity of action, the expedition was finally 
abandoned. 

Orders had been sent to the American commander at Fort 
George, to destroy the British town of Newark, situated in 
its vicinity. In midwinter this order was executed, and the 
inhabitants were thus rendered homeless in that inclement 
season. At a subsequent period of the war, this act was re- 
taliated by the burning of Niagara, Lewistown and other 
villages between lakes Erie and Ontario. 

At sea, during this year, the vessels of both nations were, 
at different times, successful. Several naval battles occurred. 
The commerce of the British also suffered severely from 
private armed vessels of the Americans. 

The Indians at the south, residing within the limits of 
Florida, had manifested hostility. In the early part of the 



WAR OF 1812. ^78 



Burning; of Forh Mimms. 



war, tiiey had been visited by Tecumseh, who had stirred up 1813 
a spirit of opposition to the white inhabitants, persuading the 
Indians that the Great Spirit required them to resist their 
encroachments, and holding up to their view the diminution 
and probable extinction of their race as a consequence of the 
usurpation of the whites. 

The effect of these arguments soon became apparent. Some 
acts of hostility followed, and General Jackson was sent 
against them, with twenty-five hundred volunteers, in the 
autumn of 1812. The Indians were thus overawed for a 
time, but in the summer of 1813, fresh outbreaks occurred. 

About three hundred persons, men, women and children, 
settlers at exposed points on the Alabama, sought a refuge in 
Fort Mimms. Here they were off their guard, and were 
surprised by a party of six hundred Indians, who, after a 
desperate conflict, drove the people into the houses enclosed 
by the fort, and set fire to them. A dreadftd carnage ensued. 
Many persons were burned ; those who escaped the flames 
were mostly killed by the tomahawk, and only seventeen 
reached the neighboring stations.* 

* A striking contrast with this treatment of the Indians is furnished 
by the conduct of those who visited the Friends Meeting House, near 
Easton, Pennsylvania, during the revolutionary war. Most of the in- 
habitants had fled for protection, but the Friends, not willing to trust 
to arms for defence, and submitting to an overruling Providence, 
remained at their homes, and continued their religious meetings. 
Whilst sitting with open doors, during one of these meetings, an 
Indian peeped in at them. He presently entered, followed by a num- 
ber of others, who laid aside their arms and took seats. They afterward 
stated that they had come to the house, intending to destroy all who 
were in it; but added, "When we saw you sitting with your door 
open, without weapons of defence, we had no disposition to hurt you ; 
we would have fought for you." 

A peaceable and inoffensive aspect serves immediately to disarm all 
feelings of war and aggression. 
32 



874 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Negotiations for peace. 

1813 After the destruction at Fort Mirams, General Jackson, at 
the head of thkty-five hundred militia, once more marched 
south. Several sanguinary engagements took place, in which 
the Indians fought with desperation, but were finally over- 
powered. They were unwilling to ask for quarter, and the 
battles generally continued until most of the warriors were 
killed. General Jackson's army suffered much from want of 
provisions, which occasioned discontent and a mutinous spirit 
among the men. By great exertions the necessary supplies 
were obtained, and Jackson continued to prosecute the war. 
Nearly fifteen hundred warriors were killed in the various 
engagements. The spirit of those who survived was at length 
subdued, and they sued foi* peace. The power of the Creeks 
was gone ; their hopes were crushed. 

In the early part of 1813, the Emperor of Eussia offered 
his services as mediator between the United States and Great 
Britain. The President, having accepted this proposal, ap- 
pointed John Quincy Adams, then minister of the United 
States at St. Petersburg, Albert Gallatin and James A. Bayard, 
commissioners, with full powers to conclude a peace with 
commissioners to be appointed by Great Britain. The British 
government, declining to treat under the mediation of Russia, 
proposed a negotiation at London or Gottenburg. The latter 
place was accepted, and Henry Clay and Jonathan Bussell 
were added to the commission. The place of meeting was 
afterward transferred to Ghent. 

1814 Hostilities were not suspended during the progress of the 
negotiation, and a loan of twenty-five millions of dollars was 
authorized by Congress ; also the issue of treasury notes for 
five millions. 

No important movements of the army were made before 
summer. During this period, information was received from 



WAR OE 1812. • S75 



Battle of Bridgewater. 



Europe of the fall of Napoleon, and of the general peace. 1814 
These events left England at liberty to direct her whole force 
against the United States. Provision was therefore made for 
the better defence of the seaboard. 

Early in Seventh month, (July,) the American army, con- 
sisting of about three thousand men, crossed the Niagara river? 
and took possession of Fort Erie, which surrendered without 
opposition. The garrison were made prisoners of war. 

The Americans then advanced to Chippewa, where about 
three thousand British troops were stationed. Here an ob- 
stinate and severe conflict took place, which ended in the flight 
of the British, after one hundred and thirty-three of their 
number had been killed, who were left dead on the field of 
battle. Three hundred and twenty were wounded, and forty 
six taken prisoners. The Americans had sixty killed, up- 
wards of two hundred and sixty wounded and missing. 

On the 20th of Seventh month, (July,) the battle of 
Bridgewater was fought^ near the cataract of Niagara. It 
commenced at six in the evening, and continued until midnight. 
The engagement was a very sanguinary one, and left the 
Americans in possession of the field. The British lost in all 
upwards of eight hundred men; of these, eighty-four were 
killed, five hundred and fifty-five wounded, and the remainder 
either missing or made prisoners. The loss of the Americans 
was not very different. 

After this battle, the Americans retreated to Eort Erie. 
On the 4th of Eighth month, (Aug.,) the place was invested 
by the British with five thousand troops. Ten days after- 
ward, an attack was made on the fort, which was repelled by 
the garrison, with the loss of about eighty men. The 
assailants lost more than nine hundred. The siege was 
continued after this disastrous defeat, and a large body of 



376 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Siege of Forfc Erie. 

1814 men arrived from Plattsburg, to the relief of the garrison. 
The batteries of the British becoming constantly more for- 
midable, the American commander determined on a sortie for 
their destruction. The parties were engaged in severe fighting 
for thirty minutes, when the Americans obtained possession of 
the intrenchments. Having killed and wounded five hundred 
of their opponents, taken three hundred and eighty prisoners, 
and destroyed the works of the British, the labor of forty- 
seven days, the Americans returned to the fort. Their own 
loss was severe; seventy-nine killed, upwards of two hundred 
missing and as many more wounded. The result of this sortie 
discouraged the British. The troops were withdrawn soon 
afterward. The siege had continued forty-nine days. 

Several ineffectual attempts were then made to dislodge the 
British from Chippewa, v/hither they had retired. After this 
the Americans evacuated Canada, having first destroyed the 
works at Fort Erie. They then went into winter quarters at 
Buffalo, Blackrock and Batavia. 

In most of the naval engagements which took place during 
the year 1814, the British vessels were obliged to surrender. 
Their commerce was also much interrupted, and many mer- 
chant vessels were taken. 

During the summer of this year, the British forces were 
much augmented by the arrival of victorious troops, who had 
served in the wars of Europe. It was determined, as soon 
as these could be organized, to make an attack on Plattsburg, 
both by land and water. This place is situated on the north 
side of the river Saranac, near its entrance into Lake Cham- 
plain. Its defence was much weakened by the departure of 
the reinforcements for the garrison at Fort Erie. It was now 
commanded by General Macomb. On the Sd of Ninth 
month, (Sept.,) General Provost entered the territory of the 
United States, with an army of fourteen thousand men. 



WAR OF 1812. 377 



Siege of Plattsburg. Battle on Lake Champlain. 

The militia having flocked in great numbers to the stand- 1814 
ard of Greneral Macomb, every effort was made to impede the 
approach of the British, and to prepare for the attack. 
Bridges were destroyed, fortifications were strengthened. On 
*he 6th, the British arrived at Plattsburg, which they en- 
tered, the Americans retiring to the south side of the Saranac, 
tearing up the bridges and guarding the fords. An advance 
party of the British had dispersed a body of militia who met 
them a few miles from Plattsburg. Several ineffectual 
attempts were made to cross the stream. From this time, 
until the 11th, the British were employed in erecting bat- 
teries opposite the American lines ; while a number of skir- 
mishes took place at the fords. The Americans, at the same 
time, were strengthening their intrenchments, and their forces 
were becoming much increased by the arrival of militia and 
volunteers. 

On the 11th, the British squadron appeared off the harbor 
of Plattsburg, where that of the Americans, commanded by 
Commodore McDonough, lay at anchor, awaiting their arrival. 
The former was manned with upwards of one thousand men, 
the latter with more than eight hundred. The fleets were 
furiously engaged for more than two hours, when the flag 
ship of the British struck her colors, and the battle termi- 
nated. One after another of the British vessels surrendered. 

At the same time that the engagement on the lake com- 
menced, the land troops of the British began a heavy canj 
nonade on the American lines, under cover of which several 
efforts were made to cross the Saranac. As often as the 
troops advanced into the water, they encountered a destructive 
fire from the militia, and were obliged to retreat with consid- 
erable loss. The surrender of the fleet was announced by 
cheers from the American troops. It took place in the sight 
32* 



378' IIISTOP.Y OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Retreat of the British. 

1814 of both armies, and served to encourage the one, and propor- 
tionably to dishearten the other. The efforts of the assailants 
became less vigorous, and in the afternoon they withdrew to 
their intrenchraents. In the night, they began a precipitate 
retreat, leaving their sick and wounded and much of their 
eamp equipage behind them. As soon as their Sight was 
discovered, a pursuit was commenced, but the British had 
already proceeded eight miles. A few prisoners were taken. 

In these two engagements, the loss of the British was 
twenty-two hundred in killed and wounded, besides five 
hundred deserters and eight hundred prisoners. The Amer- 
icans lost, in killed and wounded, about two hundred. These 
events terminated the active warfare on the Canada fron- 
tier. 

Other parts of the country had been suffering the calamities 
of war during the same period. In the spring of 1814, the 
British government declared the whole coast of the United 
States to be in a state of blockade, and vessels were stationed 
at different points for the purpose of maintaining it. 

In Fourth month, (April,) a detachment from the squad- 
ron in Long Island Sound ascended the Connecticut river, 
and burned twenty-two vessels, which had been sent there 
for safety. A village at Pettipaug Point was set on fire 
in several places, but the flames were extinguished by the 
inhabitants. 

Some weeks afterward another detachment from the same 
squadron made an attack on Stonington. A bombardment 
was continued for two days, wheri the British gave up the 
contest and withdrew. About forty buildings were injured, 
but none of the inhabitants or militia were killed. 

The seaboard in the district of Maine offered an easy 
conquest to the British. By means of their squadrons, tbcy 



WAR OF 1S12. 379 



Grievances in New England. 



took possession of the principal towns on the coast, and made 1814 
a proclamation, declaring the conquest of the country be- 
tween the Penobscot river and Passamaquoddy bay, and 
requiring the submission of the people to British authority. 

Various islands on the New England coast were obliged 
to submit to the British naval commanders. The inhabitants 
of Nantucket were compelled to promise neutrality during 
the remainder of the war. The people of Cape Cod, where 
fishing was the most important branch of business, were re- 
duced to great distress, being entirely prevented from pur- 
suing their usual employment on the banks of Newfound- 
land. 

A majority of the people in New England had from the 
first been opposed to the war, and their dissatisfaction had 
continued to increase, as their most profitable pursuits, com- 
merce and the fisheries, were interrupted. They complained 
that the government did not afford them sufiicient protection, 
but appropriated elsewhere the resources drawn from New 
England. It was now proposed that the militia and the 
revenue should be retained under their own control, and em- 
ployed for their defence and protection. 

A convention of delegates from the different New England 
States, assembled at Hartford, Twelfth month, (Dec.) 15th, 
1814, to take the subject of their gi'ievances into consider- 
ation. After continuing in session three weeks, they ad- 
journed. An address to the people was published, in which 
they set forth the measures supposed to be detrimental to the 
interests of New England, and proposing amendments to the 
federal constitution, for the purpose of preventing the adop- 
tion of such measures in future. A committee was sent to 
Washington, when further proceedings were rendered un- 
necessary by the arrival of news of peace 



380 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

British fleet in the Chesapeake. Battle of Bladensburg. 

1814 While the events which have been related were transpiring 
on the northern frontier and in New England, the people of 
the Middle and Southern States were not quiet. They had 
been thrown into a state of suspense and dread by news of 
the embarkation of troops from Europe, now thrown out of 
employment by the general peace. The point of attack was 
not known ; of course, the whole seaboard was in fear and 
excitement. Exertions were made to increase the defence of 
all exposed situations. 

Early in Eighth ^onth, (Aug.,) a British fleet, consisting 
of many vessels of war and transports, conveying a large 
number of troops, arrived in the Chesapeake, and proceed- 
ed to the mouth of the Potomac. Here the forces were 
divided. A squadron entered that river and endeavored to 
force a passage ; another division was sent to threaten Balti- 
more ; while the remainder, under General Boss, proceeded 
up the Patuxent to the town of Benedict, where five thou- 
sand troops were landed on the 19th of Eighth month, (Aug.) 
The flotilla of gun-boats in that river was burned to prevent 
its falling into the hands of the British. 

General Ross advanced toward Washington. The Amer- 
icans retreated before him, and concentrated their forces at 
Bladensburg, five miles from the city. On the 24th, the 
British commenced the attack. Many of the militia fled on 
the approach of danger. The British were at first repulsed 
by a body • of seamen and mariners under Commodore 
Barney, but soon rallied, and put the Americans to flight. 

The American forces then assembled on the heights not 
far from the Capitol in Washington ; but General Winder, 
who commanded them, considering them unable to make any 
effectual resistance, retreated to Georgetown. The President, 
heads of department, and most of the inhabitants then left the 
city. 



WAR OF 1812. 381 



Burning of Washington. 



At eight o'clock, the British entered. Terms of eapitula- 1814 
tion were offered; that the city might be ransomed by the 
payment of a sum of money, equal to the value of the public 
and private property which it contained, and that then the 
British troops should retire unmolested. As the civil and 
military authorities had left the city, there was no power to 
enter into such an engagement, even if the desire to do so had 
existed. 

General Ross immediately proceeded to destroy the city, 
and at nine o'clock it was set on fire. The Capitol, Presi- 
dent's house, offices of the heads of departments, and many 
private buildings were burned. The Post Office was the only 
public building that escaped. This wanton act was declared 
to be in retaliation for the burning of York and other places 
in Canada. It occasioned feelings of strong resentment 
throughout the country. Having accomplished this object, 
General Ptoss retired and reembarked his troops. 

The squadron which entered the Potomac was suffered to 
pass up to Alexandria without opposition. The inhabitants 
of that place agreed to a capitulation, by which all their 
merchandise, shipping and naval stores were surrendered. 
Having collected their booty, including the stores of provi- 
sions, of which this place was the depot, the squadron returned 
to the bay. 

The renjaining detachment of the British was repulsed by 
the Americans, and returned without accomplishing anything 
of importance. 

The next object of attack was Baltimore. On the 12th of 
Ninth month, (Sept.,) a British squadron sailed into Balti- 
more harbor, and commenced landing the troops, five thou- 
sand in number, at North Point, fourteen miles below the city. 
The Americans had prepared themselves for this attack. The 



382 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Baltimore attacked. British repulsed. 

1814 troops who had recently been engaged near" Washington, with 
the militia of Maryland and some from Pennsylvania and 
Virginia, had assembled for the defence of the city. A de- 
tachment of three thousand five hundred militia was sent for- 
ward to impede the progress of the invaders. In a skirmish 
which ensued about eight miles from the city. General Ross, 
the British commander, was killed. The forces continued to 
advance under Colonel Brook. At half past three, an attack 
on the American detachment was commenced by the firing 
of cannon. One of the militia regiments gave way, and the 
Americans withdrew toward the city, where the main body 
awaited an attack. 

When within two miles of the American lines, the British 
halted to await the result of an attack on Forts McHenry and 
Covington, situated on a narrow part of the Patapsco, at its 
entrance into Baltimore harbor. On the 13th, at sunrise, 
they were bombarded by the British squadron. On the fol- 
lowing night, twelve hundred men were detached to storm the 
works, and the battle raged furiously until morning. The 
fire from the fort was severe. One of the British vessels was 
sunk, with all on board. Finding that the forts could not be 
overcome, the British admiral, after consulting with Colonel 
Brook, resolved that all the forces should be withdrawn. 
Accordingly, the troops were rcembarked, and the whole 
fleet sailed down the Chesapeake. 

In Eighth month, (Aug.,) three British ships of war 
arrived at Pensacola, bringing three hundred soldiers, with 
military stores and provisions. The troops were allowed to 
take possession of the Spanish fort, and the British com- 
mander soon after issued a proclamation, calling on the in- 
habitants of Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, to unite 
with him in the prosecution of the war. With this inforraa- 



WAR OF 1812. 383 



General Jackson attacks Pensacola. 



tion, General Jackson, commander of the American army in 1814 
the south-west, also learned that a great additional force was 
daily expected at Pensacola. 

A band of pirates had established themselves on the island 
of Barrataria, near the mouth of the Mississippi. All efforts 
on the part of the American government to seize these out- 
laws had hitherto proved unavailing, and the shipping con- 
tinued to be exposed to their depredations. The British 
commander at Pensacola now endeavored to engage them in 
his service, and communicated at the same time, important 
information with regard to his plans. Although a reward 
had been offered for the head of Lafitte, their chief, he could 
not be induced to act the part of a traitor, but immediately 
communicated the whole to the governor of Louisiana. A 
pardon was offered to the band, on condition of their engaging 
in the defence of the country. The proposal was gladly 
accepted, and important services were performed by the Bar- 
ratarians. 

In Ninth month, (Sept.,) an expedition was sent from 
Pensacola, then in possession of Spain, against Fort Bowyer, 
which commands the entrance to Mobile, where Jackson had 
established his head-quarters. The expedition was unsuc- 
cessful, and returned to Pensacola, having lost a large number 
in killed and wounded. 

General Jackson had remonstrated with the governor of 
Pensacola against his conduct in harboring the British, and 
allowing them to fit out expeditions against the .United States 
from that port. The remonstrance had no effect, and the 
possession of that post by the British being injurious to the 
United States, Jackson concluded to dislodge them. Early 
in Eleventh month, (Nov.,) he appeared before the town, and 
immediately sent a flag to the governor, communicating the 



384 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



General Jackson at New Orleans. 



1814 object of his visit. The flag was fired upon from the batteries, 
and was recalled. The fort was then storraed and possession 
obtained. The British were compelled to retreat to their 
shipping, effecting their escape by blowing up a fortress be- 
longing to the Spaniards. The governor surrendered the 
town and forts, and soon after signed a capitulation by whicb 
Pensacola and its dependencies were delivered to the United 
States. 

A projected attack on New Orleans induced General Jack- 
son to repair thither with his troops. The British had for 
some time been assembling their forces in the West Indies, 
in preparation, and all who could be spared from service on 
' the coast of the United States, were ordered there, as well as 
large reinforcements from England. Jackson arrived in New 
Orleans on the 2d of Twelfth month, (Dec.) He found the 
inhabitants in a state of confusion and alarm. The popula- 
tion was composed of various nations, and there had hardly 
been time, since the transfer of Louisiana to the United States, 
for a strong national attachment to be formed. Many of the 
inhabitants were friendly to the British ; the city was not well 
defended ; it could be approached from various quarters, none 
of which were strongly fortified, and many of the militia had 
refused to turn out. 

General Jackson immediately adopted ef&cient means for 
the protection of the city. He visited the exposed points, 
and encouraged the citizens to leave no place unfortified. 
Batteries were constructed to guard the approach by the Mis- 
sissippi, and the inlets were obstructed by various means. 
The spirits of the inhabitants revived, and many expressed 
their intention of repelling the ]5ritish or dying for their 
country. 

The 3Iississippi flows into the Gulf of Mexico by several 



WAR OF 1812. 385 



The Bricish obtain possession of the lakes. Martial law. 

channels. One of these, leaving the river above the city, 1814 
runs east and forms in its course Lakes Ponchartrain and 
Borgne. On the 14th of Twelfth month, (Dec.,) the Brit- 
ish entered this channel and attacked the American flotilla, 
stationed for its defence. Their force amounted to twelve 
hundred men. After a resistance of one hour, against num- 
bers far greater than their own, the Americans surrendered. 
They lost forty men in killed and wounded; the British were 
supposed to have lost three hundred. The British thus ob- 
tained the command of Lakes Ponchartrain and Borgne. 

This defeat induced Jackson to make use of more vigorous 
measures on land. All the militia were called out, the 
negroes were set to work on the fortifications, and disaffection 
continuing and threatening danger to the safety of the city, 
on the 16th, martial law was proclaimed by General Jackson, 
after consultation with the governor and other leading citi- 
zens. This extremely rigid measure relieved the city from 
the disaffected, and the citizens labored day and night at the 
fortifications. 

The bayous and canals leading to New Orleans had mostly 
been obstructed with great care. One pass, however, called 
the bayou Bienvenue, little known, and used only by fisher- 
men, was left open and but slightly guarded. Guided by 
some traitors, the British, having effected a landing from tho 
lakes, of which they now had possession, and having made 
the American guard prisoners, marched on and reacfied the 
bank of the Mississippi, a few miles below the city, on tho 
afternoon of the 23d. 

Jackson immediately collected about two thousand mea, 
and marched toward their camp in the evening. The dark- 
ness preventing a discovery, a furious and sudden attack was 
made upon them, both by land and from the schooner Caro- 
33 



386 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Fortifications constructed, Attacked. 

1814 line. The camp fires of the British served as a light to direct 
the attack. These were soon extinguished, and the British 
made a vigorous resistance. They were however thrown into 
some confusion, and had lost nearly three hundred in killed, 
wounded and missing, when General Jackson withdrew his 
troops to a stronger position near the city. 

On the east side of the river, reaching to an extensive 
cypress swamp, a ditch had been dug, which now contained 
five feet of water. On its northern bank, entrenchments were 
thrown up, and large quantities of cotton bales so arranged 
as to protect the troops from the fire of the British. The 
works were well mounted with artillery, and on the western 
side of the river, a heavy battery was constructed. 

1815 On the 28th of Twelfth month, (Dec.,) and on the 1st of 
First month, (Jan.,) vigorous attacks were made upon these 
fortifications, with rockets, bombs and heavy cannonades. 
The fire from the Americans was so destructive, that in both 
instances, the British troops were withdrawn. Shortly after- 
ward both armies were reinforced. The Americans then 
numbered seven thousand men, the British about twelve 
thousand. 

The British commander now resolved to exert all his strength 
in a combined attack on the Americans on both sides of the 
river. With great labor and industry he opened a canal con- 
nectino- Lake Bor2;ne with the main channel of the Missis- 
sippi. He was thus enabled to transport a part of his boats 
and troops, to assist in the attack. This work was completed 
on the 7th of First month, (Jan.) 

« Early in the morning of the 8th, the main body of the Brit- 
ish moved forward to the assault. While approaching, show- 
ers of grape shot were fired upon them, and when sufficiently 
near, a heavy and incessant cannonade was opened, which 



WAR OF 1812. 387 



Battle of New Orleans. Treaty of peace. 

caused great slaughter in their ranks. They continued to 1815 
approach^ fresh troops supplying the place of those who fell. 
When within reach of the American small arms, the fire was 
so destructive, that the British retreated in confusion. In 
endeavoring to rally them, their commander. General Pack- 
enham, was killed. The British columns approached a second 
and a third time, within a short distance of the ditch. In 
both cases the slaughter was terrible. They fell back, and 
retreated in confusion to their camp. Already the field was 
covered with the bodies of nearly two thousand dead and 
wounded. The Americans lost but seven killed and six 
wounded. 

On the west side of the river, the Americans, after some 
resistance, fled and were pursued by the Britishy until, learn- 
ing the defeat of the main army, they recrossed the river and 
returned to their intrenchraents. 

The British fleet, on leaving New Orleans, proceeded to 
Mobile Bay, and took possession of Fort Bowyer. Further 
acts of hostility were arrested by the arrival of news of peace. 

The commissioners on the part of the American government 
to treat for peace, proceeded to Ghent soon after their appoint- 
ment. The British commissioners did not arrive until after 
long delay. At first they were exacting in their demands, 
but when intelligence of more recent occurrences in America 
reached Europe, their views changed, and a treaty was signed 
by the commissioners at Ghent^ on the 24th of Twelfth month, 
(Dec.,) 1814, and immediately after, ratified by the Prince 
Regent of England. On the 17th of Second month, (Feb.,) 
1815, it was ratified by the President of the United States, 
with the approbation of the Senate. 

All grounds for the war had been removed by the restora- 
tion of peace in Europe. The orders in council had been 



388 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Terms of the treaty. 

1815 repealed, and no motive now existed with the British govern- 
ment for the interruption of American commerce and the im- 
pressment of American seamen. By the treaty, the conquests 
on both sides were restored, with the exception of the islands 
in the Bay of Passamaquoddy, which were left for future set- 
tlement. Provision was made for arranging the boundaries 
between the United States and Canada. All hostilities were 
to cease with the Indians, provided they desisted from war- 
like operations, and both parties agreed to use their best en- 
deavors to promote the abolition of the slave trade. A treaty 
to reflate commerce between the two countries was signed 
some months after, by both parties. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

FROM THE TREATY OF PEACE WITH ENGLAND IN 1815, 
TO THE MEXICAN: CONTROVERSY. 

War with Algiers, v 

The Algerines having taken the opportunity afforded by 1815 
the war with Great Britain, to make depredations on American 
commerce, war was declared against them early in the spring. 
A squadron, under Commodore Decatur, sailed from New 
York on the 20th of Fourth month, (April,) and captured 
two Algerine vessels before reaching Algiers. In these 
engagements they took four hundred and six prisoners. The 
appearance of the squadron so intimidated the Dey, that he 
was induced to sign a treaty of amity with the United States. 
All claims for tribute from this government were relinquished ; 
all Americans in slavery were to be given up without ransom, 
on the restoration of the prisoners recently taken by the 
American squadron. Vessels of either party, if attacked 
within cannon shot of a fort of the other, were to be protected ; 
and in case of war again breaking out between the two gov- 
ernments, prisoners should not be made slaves, but should 
be treated as prisoners of war, and exchanged accordingly. 
These were the principal stipulations of the treaty. An 
American consul was left at Algiers, and Decatur proceeded 
to Tunis. Commodore Bainbridge having been sent out in 
charge of a relief squadron, arrangements were soon after 
made for the security of American commerce in the Mediter- 
ranean. 



390 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

General Jackson sent against the Seminoles. 

181 C The charter of the Bank of North America, established 
by Washington, having expired, the Bank of the United 
States was instituted, with a charter for twenty years. Indi- 
ana was admitted into the Union, during this year, forming 
the nineteenth State ; and treaties of peace were concluded 
with several tribes of Indians. President Madison's second 
term of office being about to expire, James Monroe was 
^ elected to succeed him, and Daniel* D. Tompkins, of New 
York, was elected to the office of Vice-President. They 
entered upon their duties on the 4th of Third month, 
(March,) 1817. 

1817 The Spanish provinces in America were at this time in a 
state of revolt, the United States maintaining a neutral posi- 
tion. In the summer of 1817, some adventurers, claiming to 
act under the authority of the revolted colonies, took posses- 
sion of Amelia Island, at the mouth of St. Mary's river, 
which forms the boundary between Florida and Georgia. 
This island had been a subject of negotiation with Spain, for 
territory of equal value lying west of the Mississippi. As 
it was now made a channel for the introduction of slaves 
into the United States, as well as a harbor for fugitive slaves 
from the neighboring States, and a port for smuggling, the 
American government deemed itself authorized to dispossess 
the intruders, which was accordingly done. 

The Seminole Indians, residing on the borders of the 
United States and Florida, had rendered themselves obnox- 
ious to the people of the South, by affording an asylum 

1818 to runaway slaves, and had also made hostile incur- 
sions into the neiojhborino; States. General Jackson was 
therefore ordered to proceed against them with a military 
force. He followed theiu to their retreats, and several skir- 
mishes took place. His whole force, including friendly Creek 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 391 

Pensacolata,ken. Purchase of Florida. 

Indians, amounted to three or four thousand. The Spanish 
fort of St. Mark was taken, the garrison not having pre- 
served neutrality ; the country was scoured in pursuit of the 
Indians, and their towns were destroyed. 

Jackson then proceeded to Pensacola. Some of the 
Indians had obtained provisions in the town, and on the 
ground that protection had been afforded them, the American 
army took possession of the place, with a fort near it, and 
sent the Spanish authorities and garrison to Havana. This 
occupancy of neutral territory occasioned much dissatisfaction 
in Congress, and the town and fortress were ordered by the 
President to be given up, whenever a sufficient Spanish force 
should demand them. 

In the year 1819, the Spanish minister at Washington 1819 
agreed to cede to the United States, East and West Florida, 
with the adjacent islands, for the sum of five millions of 
dollars, a consideration having been allowed for Spanish 
spoliations. The Spanish government raised complaints on 
various points, and many delays occurred before king Ferdi- 
nand could be induced to sign the treaty. It was finally 
ratified in 1821. The Spanish residents who chose to remain 
were absolved from their allegiance to Spain. The posses- 
sion of West Florida was formally relinquished to General 
Jackson, who had been appointed governor of that portion of 
the province, and that of East Florida, to Colonel Robert 
Butler, American commissioner„ 

In 1821, James Monroe was inaugurated President for a ^321 
second term of four years. During his administration, five 
States were admitted into the Union, in as many consecutive 
years; Mississippi in 1817, Illinois in 1$18, Alabama in 
1819, Maine, formerly attached to Massachusetts, in 1820, 
and Missouri in 1821. The question of the admission of the 



392 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Admission of Missouri. Treaties with Indian tribes. 

1821 latter State caused great excitement, not only in Congress, 
but throughout the country. The existence of slavery in 
the country had given rise to conflicting interests between the 
North and South. The northern members of Congress were 
generally in favor of the exclusion of slavery from the new 
State, the southern members w^ere strenuous that it should be 
allowed ; each being desirous of holding or retaining the 
balance of power in the federal government. The North 
yielded, and Missouri was added to the list of slave-holding 
States, with a compromise establishing the parallel of 36" 
30', as the boundary between the slave and free States, 
west of the Mississippi. In 1819, a territorial govern- 
ment was formed for Arkansas, and in 1822, one for 
Florida. 

James Monroe's second term of office having nearly 
expired, an election was held for his successor. Four candi- 
dates were proposed, and the choice devolved on the House 
of Eepresentatives. They selected John Quincy Adams, of 
Massachusetts. John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, had 
been elected Vice-President. 

During the first two years of the administration of John 
Quincy Adams, treaties were concluded with several Indian 
tribes. The Creeks ceded the land occupied by them in the 
State of Georgia, the United States agreeing to give them an 
equal number of acres west of the Mississippi, in a favorable 
situation, which a deputation from the Indians was to be 
allowed to explore previously. 

The Kansas ceded most of their lands, lying within the 
limits of the State of Missouri. The United States agreed 
to pay them thirty-five hundred dollars yearly for twenty years, 
to provide for their education and civilization, and to supply 
them with a stipulated quantity of agricultural stock. A 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 393 

The Tariff. New treaty with Great Britain. 

similar treaty was made with the Great and Little Osages, 
residing mostly in Arkansas. 

During tlie year 1825, a treaty of amity, commerce and 1825 
navigation was made with the Republic of Columbia ; and in 
the following year, one was concluded with the king of Den- 
mark, and another with theconfederationof Central America. 

The subject of establishing a Tariff of duties on imports, 
had been before Congress, during the administration of James 
Monroe. It was again brought up under John Quincy Adams, 
and in 1828, a bill passed for the protection of American 1828 
manufactures, by charging a duty on the importation of such 
articles from foreign countries as were manufactured in the 
United States. The bill passed Congress by a small majority, 
and was much opposed by members from the Southern States, 
who had no manufacturing interest, as well as by others, 
who considered it detrimental to commerce. 

In the autumn of 1828, General Andrew Jackson was 
elected President of the United States, and John C. Calhoun 
reelected Vice-President. The inauguration took place in 
the following spring. 

At the next session of Congress, the Tariff bill again 1289 
came under consideration. General Jackson, in his message, 
however, advocated sufficient protection to home manufactures, 
to enable them to compete with foreign productions, and no 
bill for the reduction of the duties could be carried through 
Congress. 

In 1830, a new treaty of commerce was made with Great 1830 
Britain, which removed the restrictions previously existing, 
by which no American vessels had been allowed to trade with 
the British colonies^ on the payment of any duty whatever, 
nor could British vessels from the colonies enter the ports of 
the United States. 



894 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 



General Scott sent against the Indians. 



In the same year, a treaty with Turkey was signed, which 
opened to this country the navigation of the Black Sea, and 
the trade of the Turkish Empire. 

1831 In the message of the President to Congress in the autumn 
of 1831, he announced that the public debt would be liqui- 
dated in the year 1833. A bill for the re-charter of the 
United States Bank passed both Houses by a small majority, 
after a long debate. Jackson had formed the opinion that 
the bank was prejudicial to the interests of the country, and 
returned the bill without affixing his signature, with a com- 
munication stating his reasons for so doing. A majority of 
two-thirds in both Houses, which the Constitution requires 
when the signature of the President is withheld, could not be 
obtained. The bank therefore was obliged to close its 
operations, at the expiration of its first charter in 1836. 

1832 In the spring of 1832, a body of troops under General 
Scott was sent against the Winnebagoes and other neighboring 
tribes of Indians, who had committed acts of hostility on the 
north western frontier, arising partly from the injustice of 
their white neighbors, and partly from dissatisfaction with the 
stipulations of a treaty made with them in 1823. The war 
was closed by the capture of the celebrated chief, Black 
Hawk. He, with others of the Indians, was taken to Wash- 
ington and several other cities, to impress them with the 
strength of the country. They were then allowed to return 
home. Treaties were made with several Indian tribes, by 
which valuable lands were ceded to the United States, the 
Indians removing farther west. 

During a great part of the session the previous winter, 
Congress was occupied with a discussion of the Tariff bill. 
An act was finally passed which lowered the duties on some 
articles. The change was not sufficient to satisfy the Southern 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATiiS. 395 

Nullifiers. 

States which had not engaged in manufactures, and where the 1832 
raw material only was produced. In Georgia and the Caro- 
linas a determined opposition to the bill was manifested. In 
South Carolina a convention assembled from all parts of the 
State, and declared the tariff acts of 1828 and 1832 as null 
and void, and not binding on the citizens of the State ; that 
if the United States should attempt to enforce them, the 
Union should be dissolved. The upholders of these procee- 
ings were styled Nullifiers. The Legislature of South Carolina 
passed an act authorizing the governor to repel force by force. 

While this excitement existed in South Carolina, the 
meeting of Congress again drew near, and all parties anxiously 
awaited the result. In the recess, General Jackson had been 
reelected President, and Martin Van Buren, to succeed 
John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, as Vice-President. 

Soon after the assembling of Congress, the Pi'esident issued 
a proclamation, in which he stated his views of the Constitution 
and laws applicable to the measures of the South Carolinians, 
asserted the right and power of the general government to 
regulate commerce and imposts, called upon the people of 
South Carolina to desist from their opposition, and upon the 
people of the United States to support him in the execution 
of the laws. 

The friends of the Union were immediately united in the 
support of the President. South Carolina, however, was not 
intimidated, and John C. Calhoun, one of their leadino; states- 
men, and former Vice-President of the United States, was 
elected to the Senate. In order to conciliate the Nullifiers, a 
bill was introduced into Congress for reducing the duties, 
after the 3d of Third month, (March,) 1833, and the Nullifiers 
consented to postpone any action on the resolution of the 
convention of citizens of South Carolina, until after that period. 



396 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

New Tariff bill. Bank of the Unitt-d States. 

1833 The bill, however, did not satisfy either party, and two months 
were spent in debates. While the tariff was under discussion, 
a bill for more effectually enforcing the collection of the duties 
passed both Houses of Congress and received the sanction of 
the President. 

The difficulties of the tariff wore at length overcome by 
the introduction of a bill by Henry Clay of Kentucky, which 
provided for a gradual reduction of the duties until 1842. 
This bill was supported by J. C. Calhoun and other southern 
members, passed both Houses of Congress, and received the 
siirnature of the President. 

On the 4th of Third month, (March,) General Jackson 
delivered his inaugural address, on commencing the second 
terra of his presidency. The principal subjects were the im- 
portance of the union of the States, and the dangers that 
would be incurred by a separation. 

President Jackson's hostility to the Bank of the United 
States led to the transfer, in this year, of the government de- 
posits from this institution to a number of smaller banks. 
His opinion was that ^^tensive moneyed corporations were 
detrimental to the interests of the country. He endeavored 
also to substitute, to a very great extent, a metallic currency 
for bank notes. The removal of the deposits, the President 
defended in a communication addressed to the cabinet ; but it 
was contended by many, that the measure was unconstitu- 
tional. Mucb commercial embarrassment was the consequence. 
The bank was obliged to diminish its issues and discounts. 
This was felt more or less in all parts of the country ; busi- 
ness operations were to some extent suspended, property de- 
preciated, and bankruptcies necessarily followed. 

The next session of Congress was mostly occupied with 
discussions connected with the late act of the President. 
Petitions flowed into the House of Representatives for the 



HISTORY OF THE UIMITED STATES. 397 

' Difficulties with France. Mediation of England. 

restoration of the public funds to the Bank of the United 1834 
States ; but the majority of the members upheld the Presi- 
dent. The Senate was hostile to his measures, and a resolu- 
tion "was passed censuring his conduct, and pronouncing it 
unconstitutional. 

Although the country suffered much for a time, in conse- 
quence of the opposition of General Jackson to the Bank of 
the United States, yet commercial operations soon accommo- 
dated themselves to the new arrangement, and business 
resumed its wonted activity. 

By a treaty made with France in 1831, that government 
agreed to pay to the United States, the sum of twenty-five 
millions of francs, as indemnity for spoliations on our commerce, 
committed under the Berlin and Milan decrees of Napoleon. 
The amount had not been paid, and in the President's mes- 
sage, at the assembling of Congress in Twelfth month, (Dec.,) 
1834, he suggested the propriety of making reprisals on 
French commerce, in case of further delay. The Senate was 
opposed to any hostile measures ; the House of Representa- 
tives, after much discussion, agreed that the execution of the 1835 
treaty should be insisted on. The French government re- 
called its minister, and the American minister at Paris was 
requested to return home, in the event of the continued 
refusal of the French government to pay the money. A bill 
soon after passed the French Chambers, authorizing the pay- 
ment of the money as soon as satisfactory explanation had 
been made to France, of the President's language. In this 
state of affairs. Great Britain tendered her mediation, and 
both parties were willing to accept the offer. Thus, by the 
intercession of a friendly power, the differences were ad- 
justed, which might have terminated in war between the two 
countries. 

34 



398 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Seminole Tvar. 

1835 The Seminole Indians in Florida continued to harbor fu- 
gitive slaves. The character of their territory afforded pro- 
tection to the refugees, and it was with difficulty that any 
who escaped to the Indians could be retaken. This kept up 
a continuous feeling of hostility between the Indians and the 
white inhabitants of the neighboring States. In the summer 
of 1835, a party of Seminoles crossed the bounds of their 
land, for the purpose of hunting. They were observed by 
some white men, who commenced flogging them with their 
whips used for driving the slaves. The Indians were exas- 
perated and fired on the whites. The fire was returned. 
Three white men were killed ; one Indian was killed and 
another wounded. 

This affray was the commencement of a series of hostilities 
which led to a war with the Seminoles that continued for 
seven years, and cost the country forty millions of dollars. 
The greater part of the regular army, with a large body of 
volunteers, was sent against the Indians. The Creeks and 
several other tribes united with the Seminoles. Great num- 
bers of them were killed, others captured, and many were 
finally transported to the western territories of the United 
States. 

During the administration of Andrew Jackson, the public 
debt was extinguished, and the money due from the French 
government for depredations under the Berlin and Milan 
decrees being received, caused a large surplus in the treas- 
ury. This money was deposited in State banks, which 
had arisen on the downfall of the Bank of the United States. 
In the summer of 1836, Congress passed a bill for distribut- 
ing the surplus revenue money among the several States of 
the Union. This bill received the sanction of the President, 
and the money was accordingly apportioned, and paid by 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 399 

Texas. Finances of the country. 

instalments. During this year Arkansas was admitted into 1836 
the Union, under the Missouri compromise, as a slave-hold- 
ing State. 

General Jackson's second terra of office having expired, 
Martin Yan Buren, of New York, was elected to succeed him. 
Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, was elected Yice-Presi- 
dent. During the following session of Congress, a bill was 1837 
introduced recognizing the independence of Texas. That 
country was formerly a province of Mexico, but had declared 
itself independent, and a war on that account still existed 
between Mexico and Texas. The consideration of the bill 
in Congress was postponed. A salary was however appro- 
priated for a Texas charge d' affaires, whenever the President 
should think proper to appoint one ; which he did before 
retiring from office. 

The finances of the country were at this time much de- 
ranged. A spirit of spsculation had arisen, caused mainly 
by the bauks having made large issues of notes based 
on the deposits of public money held by them. This 
caused a large circulation of paper money, and sales of 
unappropriated public lands took place to an unprecedented 
extent. These lands were paid for in bank notes, which 
being conveyed to the banks by the land agents, were imme- 
diately put in circulation again, the government being credited 
by the banks with the amount of the notes thus received. 
Many of the banks, especially those in the Western States, 
were incurring a debt which greatly exceeded their immediate 
means of payment. Much uneasiness was felt, lest they should 
be unable to redeem their obligations, and the credits to the 
government be of no avail. A treasury circular was there- 
fore issued, which required the payment for lands to be 
made in specie, and prohibited all sales of public lands to 
any but settlers. 



400 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The banks suspend specie payment. 

1837 The inauguration of the new President took place on the 
4th of Third month, (March,) 1837. The spirit of specula- 
tion had been carried to such an extent, that it was now suc- 
ceeded by a general feeling of distrust. The storm at length 
burst. Extensive failures occurred in the principal cities, 
and spread throughout the country. A general panic fol- 
lowed, which increased the demands on the banks. Being 
unable to meet them, a suspension of specie payment ensued. 
The value of bank notes being exceedingly uncertain, the 
Secretary of the Treasury gave orders to the revenue collec- 
tors to receive nothing but specie, or paper convertible into 
specie on demand, in payment of revenue bonds ; that is, 
bonds given by merchants in lieu of immediate payment of 
duties on imported goods. The distress was felt among all 
classes. Public works were stopped ; the manufacturer 
ceased operations. Thousands were thrown out of em- 
ployment, whose daily labor was the maintenance of their 
families. 

In consequence of the state of the finances, an extra ses- 
sion of Congress was held. A bill was passed deferring the 
payment of the fourth instalment of surplus revenue to the 
States until the commencement of the year 1839. Another 
bill authorized the issue of treasury notes equal to any defi- 
ciency in the revenue that might ensue, with four millions of 
dollars additional ; the rate of interest to be fixed by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, and not to exceed six per cent. 
A bill also passed, allowing an extension of the payment of 
revenue bonds, and- one authorizing the warehousing in bonds 
of imported goods, for a term not exceeding three years; that 
is, the depositing of these goods in government storehouses 
for three years, or until the importer should be able to pay 
the duty. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 401 

Sub-Treasury. Rebellion in Canada. Border diflBlcuIties. 

A bill, organizing a Sub-Treasury system, was introduced 183" 
and warmly debated, but deferred for future consideration. 
By this bill, the funds of the government, instead of being 
deposited in banks, were to be placed in the hands of assist- 
ant treasurers, located in various places, who were .to pay 
them out, on the order, of the Secretary of the Treasury, 
under the appropriation of Congress. In the Report of this 
officer, presented at the following session of Congress, the 
receipts for the year were estimated at nearly twenty-three 
millions five hundred thousand dollars. 

In the autumn Congress again met, at the usual time. Its 
attention was in part occupied by difficulties which had oc- 
eured on the borders of the United States and Canada, in 
consequence of a rebellion in that province. The President 
had forbidden by proclamation all interference by American 
citizens, and ordered the United States Marshal to execute 
warrants of arrest against all who should violate the neutral- 
ity of the nation. To preserve the peace, Gen. Scott was 
sent to the frontier with a portion of the New York troops. 

The burning of a small American steamboat, called the 
Caroline, by order of the commander of the Canadian militia, 
caused a great excitement. She was at anchor at Fort 
Schlossen, on the Niagara river, opposite Navy Island, where 
a body of insurgents had collected. The commander of the 
Canada militia suspected her of having conveyed ammunition 
and supplies to the Tcbels, and on that account despatched a 
party of militia, who, after an affray in which several persons 
were killed, made themselves masters of the vessel, and set- 
ting her on fire, suffered her to drift down the stream, and to 
pass over the Falls of Niagara. The circumstance gave rise 
to a correspondence between the Secretary of State and the 
British minister at Washington, which did not result in any 
34* 



402 niSTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

North-eastern boundary. 

1838 action. After a long debate in Congress, a bill passed for 
the preservation of neutrality. 

In the course of the session, the Sub-Treasury bill passed 
the Senate after a full debate, but was lost in the House. A 
bill granting a right of preemption to first settlers on unoc- 
cupied public lands, passed both Houses. 

During the year 1838, the banks throughout the country 
generally resumed specie payments, and credit revived, giving 
the usual life to business. A convention was held at Wash- 
ington for fixing the boundary between this country and 
Texas. The Cherokees removed west of the Mississipi, re- 
linquishing to the United States the land they had occupied. 

A dispute had for some time been going on with the British 
government, respecting the boundary line between the State 
of Maine and the British Provinces. At times it assumed a 
threatening aspect. Early in this year, a party of British 
subjects invaded the disputed territory^ and cut down a large 
quantity of timber. An armed force was immediately sent to 
drive off the trespassers, and to prevent tlie carrying away of 
the timber ; after which the party was to return. The 
American land agent, however, as he was about uniting with 
the agent appointed by the governor of New Brunswick, in 
watching the trespassers, was arrested. In retaliation the 
English officer was arrested by the American party, and con- 
veyed to Bangor. 

An excited correspondence followed between the governors 
of New Brunswick and of Maine, and preparations were made 
by the Province and State for hostilities. Both the prisoners 
were soon after liberated on parole, and the discussion of the 
aflBiir was transferred to Washington. After a long debate, 
the subject was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
who recoirimenfled that the President should be instructed to 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 403 

General Harrison. His death. 

repel any invDsion of the territory of the United States, and 
that appropriations should be made for fortifications, and for 
the building and repair of vessels of war. Commissioners 
were afterward sent out from England to examine the dis- 
puted territory. In the next session of Congress, twenty-five 
thousand dollars were appropriated toward the expenses of 
the survey. The excitement subsided, but the difficulty was 
not finally adjusted until 1842. 

Toward the close of 1838, the United States Bank once 
more suspended specie payments. The example was followed 
by many other banks, again causing dismay in the commercial 
world. 

In the autumn of 1840, Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison, of 
Ohio, was elected President^ and John Tyler, of Virginia, 
Vice-President. The inauguration took place in Third 
Month, (March,) following. 

The new President had been elected by a large majority. 1841 
Great confidence was felt in his ability and integrity, and 
strong hopes were entertained by his friends that the commer- 
cial and financial relations of the country would be restored to 
their former healthful condition. 

In the ordering of an overruling Providence, these high 
anticipations were never to be realized. General Harrison 
died at Washington, on the morning of the 4th of Fourth 
month, (April,) 1841, just one month after his inauguration, 
in the sixty -ninth year of his age. A national fast was pro- 
claimed, and demonstrations of the affection and respect of 
the people took place throughout the Union. 

According to the Constitution, John Tyler now succeeded 
to the office of President. His views of the policy of the 
government were not in accordance with those of General 
Harrison. By his message at the opening of Congress, it 



404 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

President Tyler. 

1841 appeared that the population of the country was seventeen 
millions, having doubled in twenty-three years. 

A special session of Congress had been called. One im- 
portant object was the passing of a bill for the establishment 
of a new Bank of the United States. The measure was 
defeated by the refusal of the President's signature. A 
second bill was prepared, and another exercise of the veto 
power took place. The members of the cabinet conse- 
quently all resigned their offices, with the exception of Daniel 
Webster, Secretary of State. They were the same who had 
been chosen by Glen. Harrison, and had been retained in 
office by President Tyler. Before the close of the session a 
bill passed Congress, and received the signature of the Presi- 
dent, for the distribution of the proceeds of the public lands. 
All danger arising from the difficulties in Canada was not 
yet over. Alexander McLeod had been arrested in New 
York and committed for trial, on the charge of being concerned 
in the attack on the Caroline. The British minister demand- 
ed his release, and signified that the surrender of McLeod 
was essential to the preservation of good understanding be- 
tween the two countries. The President refused to release 
him, and much excitement was felt throughout the country. 
On trial, however, he was acquitted. 

The government of Great Britain had united with some 
other nations for the suppression of the African slave trade ; 
and each of the parties had conceded to the other the right of 
search under certain restrictions. The United States would 
not enter into the arrangement, unwilling, under any circum- 
stances, to grant the right of search. The slave trade was 
prosecuted to a very great extent ; and in order to prevent 
detection, the flag of the United States was soon made use 
of to carry on this iniquitous traffic. 



HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATE.'?. 405 

The Amistad. 

Toward the close of the year 1839, a great degree of 
interest was excited in the minds of the American people, 
especially those opposed to slavery, by the seizure in Long 
Island Sound, of the Amistad, schooner, and imprisonment 
of Africans on board. On the passage of this vessel from 
Havana to Principe, employed in conveying some newly 
imported Africans, the Africans rose in revolt, killed the 
captain, and obtained command, some of the sailors having 
escaped in a boat. Montez, one of the claimants, was directed 
to steer for the " rising sun." This he did during day- 
light, but every night changed the vessel's course, and steered 
for the United States. The schooner was on the coast some 
time, and was frequently seen, and at length seized in Long 
Island Sound, by a government officer, and taken into the 
port of New London. The Africans were committed to jail 
in New Haven, to answer to the charge of murder. 
But at the meeting of the Circuit Court of the United 
States, the Grand Jury found that as the offence was conmiitted 
on board a Spanish vessel on the high seas, the men were 
not amenable to our laws for the act. The Spanish claim- 
ants demanded that the negroes should be given up for trial, 
in a country subject to the crown of Spain. This step, 
which would have been equivalent to remanding them to 
slavery or death, was declined. They were continued in 
prison for a long time, and finally set at liberty by the 
Supreme Court of the United States, and sent to their native 
country by some Christian friends, who took advantage of 
this opportunity to establish a mission at Kaw-mendi. Mnr- 
gree, one of the Amistad negroes, was converted to Chris- 
tianity in Africa, sent to this country to be educated, and after 
a residence of upwards of two years, returned to Africa, 
where she became a teacher in a school of eighty native 
children. 



406 HISTORY OF TUE UNITED STATES. 

Brig Creole. New Tariff bill. 

The Spanish minister in this country has applied several 
times for compensation for the value of the Amistad negroes ; 
and although the Senate has at two different times passed a 
till to that effect, it has been defeated in the House of Rep- 
resentatives. 

A circumstance attendant on the prosecution of the domes- 
tic slave trade, and which caused much excitement, especially 
at the South, occurred in 1840. The brig Creole, of Richmond, 
Virginia, bound for New Orleans, sailed for that port, hav- 
ing on board one hundred and thirty-five slaves. In the 
course of the voyage, some of them rose on the crew, mur- 
dered a passenger, who, by law, owned some of them, and 
dangerously wounded the captain. Having obtained com- 
mand of the vessel, it was taken to Nassau, on the Island of 
New Providence. On arriving, a guard was placed on 
board, at the request of the American consul, to prevent the 
escape of the mutineers. They were, however, afterward lib- 
erated. The governor of the island maintained that the 
slaves became free on landing in British territory, and that 
he could not recognize the claim of American owners. 
1842 In 1842, the Tariff was again the subject of debate in 
Congress. A new bill, which passed both Houses, was 
vetoed by the President. Later in the session, it was modi- 
fied so as to reduce the duties, and again passed. This bill 
received the signature of President Tyler. 

Several subjects of dispute, which remained unsettled, 
had arisen between England and the United States. In the 
spring, Lord Ashburton was sent to this country, as a special 
ambassador, with full powers to make an adjustment of all 
differences between the t^o governments. A treaty was 
negotiated with Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, on the 
part of the United States, and signed by the two plenipotcn- 



HISTORY OE THE UNITED STATES. 407 

New treaty with England. Commissioners from Texas. 

tiaries, on the 9th of Eighth month, (Aug.,) the treaty to be 1842 
duly ratified in London, in six. months from that date. The 
north-eastern boundary line was definitely settled. It was 
also stipulated that each of the two governments should 
maintain, on the coast of Africa, a naval force of not less 
than eighty guns, for the purpose of enforcing the laws, rights 
and obligations of the two countries for the suppression of 
the African slave trade. The parties were also to unite in 
remonstrances with those powers within whose dominions 
markets for foreign slaves existed, and to urge upon them 
the duty of closing such markets. The treaty was ratified 
by the Senate on the 20th of Eighth month, (Aug.,) soon 
after which Congress adjourned. 

The Tariff bill did not yet give satisfaction, and was again 1844 
brought before Congress. An attempt to reduce still further 
the duties on imports, w^as defeated. 

An application had been made by the government of 
Texas, for annexation to the United States, and commission- 
ers were appointed to treat with this nation. The annexa- 
tion of that large district of country to this government had 
been a favorite project of the slave-holding interest. The 
territory from which slave-holding States might be formed, 
had been reduced to narrow limits by the Missouri compro- 
mise, and if the formation of free States was continued, from 
territory north of the prescribed bounds, the North would 
hold the balance of power in the Senate, and by an increased 
number of Representatives, would be able to control the 
government. The rapid increase of population, and the 
prosperous condition of the north-western States, gave evi- 
dence that this would be the ca^. A treaty of annexation^ 
negotiated by the Secretary of State and the commissioners 
on the part of Texas, was signed by President Tyler, but was 
rejected by the Senate. 



408 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Its annexation desired by the South. 

1844 There ■were other motives which influenced the slave-hold- 
inf' party in the wish to add this territory to the United 
States. Mexico had abolished slavery in all her dominions ; 
and so large a district of free country in immediate proximity 
to the Southern States, would be hostile to the mainte- 
nance of slavery. The desire to sustain a system of wrong 
leads to unjust measures ; and it is with mortification that 
the faithful historian is obliged to delineate the subserviency 
of this government to the interests of two hundred and fifty 
thousand slave-holding citizens of the South. It will not be 
until the rights of the humblest individual, irrespective of 
color, are sacredly upheld, that this nation will deserve the 
respect from the civilized world, which her noble institutions 
might otherwise so signally claim. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE MEXICAN WAR, WITH SOME OF THE CAUSES 
WHICH LED TO IT. 

Aid furnished the Texans, 

Emigration to Texas from the southern portion of the 
Union, had been encouraged by citizens in the slave-holding 
States, and could its independence be obtained, an important 
step toward its acquisition as a portion of the United States 
would be accomplished. Accordingly, during the struggle in 
that country to throw off the government of Mexico, aid was 
openly furnished the insurgents from the United States, and 
this government so far manifested its sympathy as to appoint 
four consuls to reside among them, for the purpose, it would 1835 
seem, of facilitating the progress of independence. The 
remonstrances of the Mexican minister against these violations 
of neutrality were not sufficiently regarded to prevent a repe- 
tition and increase of similar acts. 

At this period in the revolt of Texas, the Cabinet 
again made overtures, without success, for the purchase of 
the province from Mexico. From this time the attention of 
the American government appears to have been turned to 
some other means of obtaining possession. 

Early in 1836, General Gaines was sent to the western 

frontier of the State of Louisiana, ostensibly to prevent the 

contending parties from entering the territory of the United 

States. Adventurers were at this time flocking to Texas, 

3d 



410 niSTOKY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

United States troops enter Texas. 

1836 and Texan agents were organizing, in the Southern States, 
military forces to assist in the revolt. No directions appear 
to have been given to General Gaines to prevent the passage 
of these into Texas. A few months later, the forces under 
General Gaines were allowed to proceed to Nacogdoches, 
within the limits of the province ; and on the remonstrance of 
the Mexican minister, the United States Secretary of State, 
John Forsyth, replied that " to protect Mexico from Ameri- 
can Indians, and to protect our frontiers from Mexican 
Indians, our troops might, if necessary, be sent into the 
heart of Mexico." There appears to have been no evidence 
that the Indians contemplated any attack, but a pretext was 
necessary to explain the occasion of United States troops 
marching into a neighboring country, at peace with this 
government. 

On the 21st of Fourth month, (April,) 1836, the Texans 
gained an important victory over the Mexicans at San Jacinto, 
in which Santa Anna, the president of the Mexican republic, 
was taken prisoner. This battle rendered the result of the 
war more certain. Mexico was comparatively exhausted, the 
number of the Texans was rapidly increasing by recruits 
from the United States, and the independence of the province 
was scarcely doubtful. For the purpose of adding to the 
political power of the southern portion of the Union, the 
slavcholding power desired its annexation to the United 
States. This step would involve the nation in a war with 
Mexico, and the opposition to the measure which was felt at 
the North, was strengthened by the view of this obvious con- 
sequence. The object of the administration, therefore, hence- 
forward was to induce Mexico to commence hostilities against 
the United States, that Texas might be attached to this gov- 
ernment by right of conquest, and with the unanimous con- 
sent of her inhabitants. 



TUE MEXICAN WAR. 411 



The Mexican minister leaves Washington. 



On the pretence of protecting the frontier against the In- 1836 
dians, American troops under General Gaines had advanced 
into Texas. On the 10th of Ninth month, (Sept.,) the Mex- 
ican minister at Washington wrote to the Secretary of State, 
affirming that if this invasion was sanctioned by the govern- 
ment, his mission must terminate. The reply stated that Amer- 
ican troops were then stationed at Nacogdoches, and orders 
had been given for them to enter the Mexican territory, in 
case General Gaines should be satisfied that any Indians, dis- 
turbing the peace of the iVmerican frontier, were receiving 
assistance or shelter within the Mexican territory. The min- 
ister denied any wish on the part of Mexico to excite the 
Indians against the United States, and formally demanded 
the withdrawal of the troops from Texas. This demand was 
promptly refused, and the minister was informed that, by 
treaty, each party was bound to restrain its own Indians from 
making hostile incursions upon the territories of the other, 
and Mexico being unable to fulfil her engagement, the 
United States had the right, in self-defence, to occupy her ter- 
ritory. No evidence was offered to show that the frontiers of 
the United States were menaced by Mexican Indians, and 
two days subsequently the minister demanded his passports. 

Thus far the efforts for the suspension of diplomatic inter- 
course with Mexico were successful. Shortly after the vic- 
tory at San Jacinto, the Secretary of State forwarded to Pow- 
hatan Ellis, American minister at Mexico, a list of fifteen 
complaints against the Mexican government, which he was 
expected to present without delay ; although the acknowl- 
edgment was made at the same time, that " the Department 
is not in possession of proof of all the circumstances of the 
wrong done in the above cases." Such reparation was to be 
demanded, " as these accumulated wrongs may be found to 



412 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Alleged grievances. 

1836 require ;" and if no satisfactory answer were given in three 
weeks, the minister was to announce that unless redress were 
afforded without unnecessary delay, his further residence in 
Mexico would be useless. If this threat were of no avail, he 
was to notify the government that unless a satisfactory answer 
were returned in two weeks, he should ask for his passport, 
and at the expiration of that period, he was to return home, if 
no satisfaction had been received. 

It is unnecessary to enumerate the accumulated wrongs 
complained of. Two of them were settled before the dispatch 
from the Secretary of State reached Mexico. They were 
all of comparatively recent occurrence; one of them had 
stood five years, nine had occurred within twelve months. 
Proof of the statements could not be produced, and if cor- 
rect, were injuries for which redress could be sought in 
the Mexican courts. Not one had been justified by the 
government. 

On the 26th of Ninth month, (Sept.,) Ellis laid before the 
Mexican minister, the thirteen remaining grievances, and 
was promptly assured that they should be investigated. In 
less than four weeks afterward, he announced to the govern- 
ment that unless the wrongs complained of were redressed, 
without unnecessary delay, his further residence in Mexico 
would be useless. The next day Ellis received a reply to his 
communication, stating that to decide on the grievances pre- 
sented, documents were to be collected from various parts of 
the republic ; that measures had been taken to procure these 
documents, and promising that when these were received, the 
decision of the government would be communicated to him. 
Notwithstanding this reply, on the 4th of Eleventh month, 
(Nov.,) Ellis, in pursuance of his instructions, gave notice 
that unless his complaints were satisfactorily answered, in 
two weeks, he should demand his passports. 



TUE MEXICAN WAR. 413 



The American minister leaves Mexico. 



Before the expiration of the allotted time, a final answer 1836 
was received. It was stated that by the existing treaty, citi- 
zens of either country were entitled to bring their grievances 
before the tribunals of the other ; hence it was unnecessary 
for their respective governments to interfere to procure that 
justice for them which the courts of law were ready to afford. 
Nevertheless the government had not declined to examine the 
complaints preferred by the minister. The replies to the 
several charges followed, and would have been entirely satis- 
factory to a government wishing alone for justice, but the 
object was to provoke Mexico to a war, that a part of her ter- 
ritory might be added by conquest to that of the United 
States, and the slave-holding power thereby strengthened. 

On the 7th of Twelfth month, (Dec.,) the minister de- 
manded his passports. The Mexican government desired to 
know the cause of such a step. Ellis made no reply. Dip- 
lomatic intercourse between the two countries was thus at 
an end ; and the way was opened for obtaining by force, 
satisfaction for alleged grievances. 

The report of Powhatan Ellis having been received by 1007 
President Jackson, he sent a message to Congress, in which 
he complains of the conduct of Mexico, speaks of the inju- 
ries that have been committed, the unavailing applications for 
redress, and considers that these circumstances, independently 
of the insults offered to this government and to the people, 
by the late Mexican minister, would justify immediate war. 
He would, however, give Mexico one more opportunity to 
atone for the past, and recommended the passage of an act 
authorizing reprisals, and the use of the naval force of the 
United States, by the Executive, against Mexico, in the event 
of her refusal to come to an amicable adjustment of the mat- 
ters in controversy, upon another demand thereof, made on 
35* 



414 HISTOEY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Texan constitution, 

1837 board one of our vessels of war on the coast of Mexico. 
The proposition of the President was rejected by Congress. 
The nation was not yet prepared for war. 

In the mean time the Texans were making exertions to 
favor the cause of annexation, and holding out greater incen- 
tives to the South. Within fifteen days after their declara- 
tion of independence, they adopted a constitution, giving the 
rights of citizenship to all white emigrants, after a residence 
of six months, authorizing emigrants to bring their slaves 
with them, and depriving the legislature of the power to 
abolish slavery. The importation of all slaves excepting 
from the United States, was prohibited ; and every negro 
or mulatto remaining on the soil of Texas was doomed to 
bondage. By vote of the Texans, Twelfth month, (Dec.,) 
1836, their territory was made to include, not only the 
Mexican province of Texas, but the whole of the territory 
included between the United States and the Rio Grande, 
from its source to its mouth ; forming an area for slavery, 
calculated to strengthen, if annexed to the United States, 
the slave-holding power in Congress for an indefinite period 
of years. 

In the year ISoG, President Jackson sent an official agent 
into Texas, from whom he received a report, near the 
close of the year, on the " Political, military, and civil condi- 
tion of Texas," which he laid before Congress. In this 
document, the boundaries of the territory claimed by the new 
government were defined, and the President, in a message 
accompanying it, stated that the people of Texas had insti- 
tuted the same form of government with our own, and had 
openly resolved on obtaining the acknowledgment by the 
American government of their independence, and declared 
their intention to seek admission into the Union, as one of the 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 



415 



Independence of Texas acknowledged. 



Federal States. He also stated that the title of Texas to the 1837 
territory she claimed, was identified with her independence, 
and that she asked this government to acknowledge her title, 
with the avowed design of immediately transferring it to the 
United States. 

It was by this time presumed that Mexico would not prob- 
ably be provoked into war with the United States. The 
acknowledgment of Texan independence by this government 
seemed therefore a necessary preliminary to annexation. The 
people of the free States were opposed to the acquisition of 
any more slave territory, and great pains were taken to 
weaken this opposition, or to quiet its apprehensions, by delu- 
sive assurances that any action on the subject would be 
postponed. 

Notwithstanding these assurances, on the first of Third 
month, (March,) two days before the close of the session of 
Congress, and in the absence of six members, a resolution 
passed the Senate, acknowledging the independence of Texas. 
The resolution afterward passed the House of Kepresenta- 
tives; and another important step was thus taken toward 
the acquisition of a large extent of slave-holding territory. 

Before the adjournment of Congress, a schedule of griev- 
ances, amounting in number to forty-six, was laid before that 
body. Thirty-two of these were founded on acts said to 
have been committed prior to 1832, the date of a treaty of 
friendship between the two republics, when every thing was 
considered as settled. 

The alleged grievances, for which complaint was to be 
made to the Mexican government, were entrusted to a courier 
of the Department of State. On the 20th of Seventh 
month, (July,) he arrived in the city of Mexico, and de- 
manded redress. Before his arrival, the Mexican govern- 



416 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Arbitration. 

1837 ment had passed an act, offering to submit the claims of the 
United States to the arbitration of a friendly power. A 
minister was also appointed and sent to Washington. 

Immediately on the recognition of Texan independence by 
the United States, the new republic appointed a minister 
plenipotentiary, who arrived in Washington, Eighth month, 
(Aug.,) 1837. Martin Van Buren had succeeded Jackson 
as President. A proposition for annexation was made on 
behalf of the Texan government, and declined on the ground 
that such a step at the present time would result in war with 
Mexico. For such a consequence the nation was at that time 
unprepared. It was known that one-third of the senators 
would withhold their assent. 

The Mexican minister, after his appointment, proceeded to 
Washington, and in Twelfth month, (Dec.,) communicated to 
the American government, the proposal of Mexico to refer 
the subjects in controversy to arbitration. At the expiration 

1838 of four months, he was informed of the acceptance of the 
offer by the President. Negotiations were commenced, and 
it was finally agreed that all the claims should be referred to a 
board of four commissioners, two of whom were to be appointed 
by each party. The board were to meet in Washington, and 
to sit not more than eighteen months. The award of the 
commissioners was to be final, but the cases in which they 
could not agree were to be decided by an umpire, to be named 
by the king of Prussia. 

1840 The session of the board commenced on the 17th of Eighth 
month, (Aug.,) 1840, and in nine months they had decided 
upon every claim which had been presented, with the neces- 
sary vouchers, at the opening of the session. At the expira- 
tion of eighteen months, they were dissolved by the terms of 
the treaty. The king of Prussia had named his minister at 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 417 



American claims. 



Wasbington as umpire. The total amount of claims sub- 1840 
mitted to tbe commissioners was nearly twelve millions of 
dollars, of wbich upwards of three millions were presented 
too late to be examined. Of the remainder, nearly three- 
fourths of the amount claimed were rejected as not being due, 
a little over two millions being allowed. Supposing the same 
proportion of the claims not examined to have been just, the 
debt due from Mexico would be reduced from upwards of 
eleven millions, the amount claimed, to about three millions. 

Two specimens of these claims are given. A. 0. de San- 
tangelo was a schoolmaster and printer in Mexico. In one 
of the revolutionary struggles, he was obliged to leave the 
country, and abandoned his school and press. He fled to 
New York, where he became a naturalized citizen of the 
United States, and in that capacity, brought in a bill of 
$398,690 against the Mexican government for damages. The 
Mexican commissioners denied that anything was due ; the 
American commissioners allowed him $83,440. This amount 
the umpire cut down to $50,000, one-eighth of the demand. 
$1,170 were claimed for a trunk of wearing apparel, seized 
by a Mexican Custom House oflicer, with $311.50 inter- 
est, making $1,481.50. Thewholeclaim was allowed by the 
American commissioners, and left undecided by the umpire, 

John Tyler, who had succeeded to the presidency on the 
death of General Harrison, appointed Waddy Thompson, of 1842 
South Carolina, minister to Mexico. He succeeded in nego- 
tiating a new treaty, by which that nation agreed to pay all 
the interest then due, and the award itself, in five years, in 
equal quarterly instalments. It had been provided that the 
claims might be paid in Mexican treasury notet^. These 
afterward became much depreciated in value, and Mexico was 
required by another convention to make payment in specie. 

The new convention stipulated for another arbitration 



418 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

New arbitration treaty. Squadron sent to California. 

1842 treaty, and one which was to provide for the settlement of 
all claims made by the government of Mexico against the 
United States, as well as those made by the government and 
citizens of the United States against Mexico. By the treaty, 
the claims of the two countries were to be referred to a joint 
commission to sit in Mexico ; the award of an umpire, to be 
named by the king of Belgium, was to be final. The Senate 
conditionally ratified the treaty. They changed the place of 
meeting to \Yashington, and made such alterations in it, that 
no further notice was taken of it by the Mexican government. 
The protestations of Mexico against the aid afforded Texas 
by citizens of the United States with the toleration of their 
own government were not only entirely disregarded, but the 
slave-holding power began to look still further. Texas had 
been the immediate object of ambition. It was now thought 
that California might be the means of extending slavery to 
the Pacific Ocean. Considerable settlements of Americans 
had already been established in that section of eountrv ; and 
it was now affirmed that they were not safe without the pro- 
tection of a naval force from the United States. The force, 
if sent, might fully explore the Gulf of California, which would 
be a means of employing for a long time one or two vessels. 
Commodore Jones, a Virginian, was therefore despatched 
with a squadron to the Pacific, and was instructed to pay par- 
ticular attention to the examination of the bays and harbors 
they might visit. 

On the 19th of Tenth mouth, (Oct.,) 1842, the vessels 
entered the harbor of Monterey. The Americans immediately 
proceeded to take possession of the fort, under pretence of 
anticipating the British government, who, it had been falsely 
stated, had purchased California from Mexico. No resistance 
was offered. Proclamations were immediately circulated, 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 419 

Treaty of annexation rejected. 

printed in the Spanish hinguage, offering liberty of conscience 
and'security to all. On ascertaining that California had not 
been sold to Great Britain, Commodore Jones lowered the 
flag of the United States, apologized to the Mexican com- 
mander, and withdrew to the vessels. 

The independence of Texas had now been acknowledged 1843 
by France and England. With the latter government, a 
treaty had been made for the suppression of the African 
slave trade ; and apprehensions were excited among the slave- 
holders that if left to herself, owing to emigration from abroad, 
slavery might be abolished within her borders. They resolved 
therefore to press immediate annexation. On the 17th of 
Tenth month, (Oct.,) Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, then 
Secretary of State, proposed to the Texan agent a treaty of 
annexation. The Mexican minister consequently gave notice, 
that if Texas were received into the Union, he must ask for 
his passports. On the 22d of Fourth month, (April,) 1844, 1844 
the treaty was laid before the Senate, and rejected by that 
body by a vote of thirty-five to sixteen, a majority of two- 
thirds being necessary. 

The Mexican government had not recognized the indepen- 
dence of Texas, and although hostilities had ceased for some 
years, the war was not terminated, and Mexico had given 
evidence of her intention to prosecute it still further. 

The friends of liberty, after the rejection of the treaty of 
annexation by the Senate, considered the danger as passed. 
But what could not be accomplished in a constitutional manner, 1345 
was yet done regardless of the Constitution, before the session 
of Congress closed. A joint resolution of the two Houses of 
Congress, which requires only a majority in each, was allowed 
to supersede a treaty. This in the present crisis might be 
effected. A presidential election had taken place, and James 



420 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Texas annexed. 

1845 K. Polk, a warm advocate for annexation, would succeed to 
the presidency on the 4th of Third month, (March,) 1845. 
The partisans of Texas gained strength by his arrival in Wash- 
ington, and on the 1st of Third month, the important ques- 
tion was decided, after a severe struggle and with a small 
majority, by the passage of a joint resolution in both Houses 
of Congress, authorizing the annexation of Texas to the Fed- 
eral Union, as one of the States. A messenger was imme- 
diately despatched to Texas. Her consent to the measure 
was obtained, and on the 22d of Twelfth month, (Dec.,) she 
was formally enrolled as one of the States of this Confederacy. 
The consequences of this unconstitutional proceeding have 
not yet become fully developed, and it has been remarked 
by a distinguished citizen, "Ages may not see the catastrophe 
of the tragedy, the first scene of which we have been so ready 
to enact." 

One addition having been made to the territory of the 
United States, the leaders of the administration party began 
more openly to turn their attention to California. In order 
to obtain possession of this large territory an attempt to nego- 
tiate with Mexico was first tried. Diplomatic intercourse 
between the two countries being suspended, an envoy was 
sent to Mexico, with full powers to adjust all questions in dis- 
pute between the two governments. The Mexican govern- 
ment, regarding the annexation of Texas to the United States 
as an act of war, had only consented to receive a commissioner 
to settle the dispute concerning that province. When, there- 
fore, it was ascertained that the envoy had come as a minister 
plenipotentiary, and not as a commissioner to offer reparation 
for injury done to Mexico by the annexation of Texas to the 
United States, the Mexican government refused to receive him. 

Previously to the information of this refusal being received 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 421 



Aggressions on Mexico. 



at Washington, United States troops, under General Taylor, 1845 
were ordered to march to the Rio Grande. This movement 
not only laid Texas open to the troops, but also parts of New 
Mexico, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas, which Texas, after the 
victory at San Jacinto, had been emboldened to claim as a 
part of her territory. The object as given in the President's 
orders, was "to repel invasion, and to protect what, in the 
event of annexation^ will be our western frontier." At the 
time these orders were sent, the consent of Texas to the 
annexation resolutions of Congress had not reached Washing- 
ton. In addition to the regular troops placed under the com- 
mand of General Taylor, requisitions were made upon the 
governors of five of the slave-holding States for volunteers, for 
the payment of whom, they were informed, Congress had 
made no appropriation, not having foreseen the emergency 
which would make such a step necessary. War being antici- 
pated only by the Cabinet, the representatives of the people 
had of course made no arrangements to meet it. 

It was the design of the Executive of the United States to 
induce Mexico to strike the first blow, in order that the war 
might be considered by the people of the north, as one of 
defence. An army of four thousand men, besides volunteers, 
was sent to the Rio Grande, and the apology was that Texas 
was in danger j yet, although Mexico continued to threaten 
her revolted province, no hostile force had entered it since 
the disastrous defeat at San Jacinto, in 1836. 

Having made these preparations for hostilities, the admin- 
istration now concluded to wait the result of the proposed 
negotiation with Mexico for the purchase of California. 
Early in 1846, the President received information from Slidell, 
the envoy sent to Mexico, that the Mexican government would 
enter into no negotiation, excepting m reference to Texas. 
m 



422 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

General Taylor at the Rio Grande. 

1846 Consequently there was no hope of a cession of California. 
Further orders were therefore sent to Taylor, and several sit- 
uations on the Rio Grande for the army were suggested for 
his consideration, opposite Metamoras and other towns in 
Mexico. With the American standard thus displayed before 
them, the Mexicans would be more likely to be provoked to 
hostilities. A protest was received against these proceedings, 
concluding with this assurance : — *' So long as the army shall 
remain in the territory of Tamaulipas, the inhabitants must, 
whatever professions of peace you may employ, regard you as 
openly committing hostilities, and for the melancholy conse- 
quences of these, they who have been the invaders must be 
answerable in the view of the whole world." 

Having arrived at the Rio Grande, batteries were erected, 
and the guns made to " bear directly upon the public square 
of Metamoras, and within good range for demolishing the 
town." Further remonstrances were sent to Taylor, re- 
quiring him to remove his camp within twenty-four hours, 
and retire beyond the Neuces. If they insisted on remaining 
in Tamaulipas, arms alone must decide the question. This 
threat was considered by Taylor as a hostile act, but an 
expedient was still wanting to justify him in bombarding 
Metamoras. He therefore blockaded the mouth of the Rio 
Grande, thus cutting off all communication with Metamoras 
by sea, and states his object to be, to " compel the Mexicans 
to withdraw their army from Metamoras, where it cannot be 
sustained, or to assume the offensive on this- side of the 
river." 

Notwithstanding these provocations, and the expedient for 
starving the Mexican array, no attack was yet made on the 
American forces, nor had a single shot been fired by the Mex- 
icans. It therefore became necessary to take another step. 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 423 

Hostilities commenced. 

" With a view to cbeck the depredations of small parties of 1846 
the enemy on this side of the river," Taylor writes, he had 
sent a party to scour the country, and " capture and destroy 
any such parties that they might meet." A Mexican camp 
was surprised ; the men were driven away, and their horses 
seized. Soon after this, a party of dragoons, discovering a 
small body of Mexicans on a hill, " immediately charged upon 
them." Others, however, who were hidden by the rising 
ground, advanced and captured the assailants. Taylor imme- 
diately wrote home, " Hostilities may now be considered as 
commenced." 

On the 26th of Fourth month, (April,) the President of 
Mexico issued a proclamation containing tbis language : 
" Hostilities have been commenced by the United States of 
America, in making new conquests upon our territories within 
the boundaries of Tamaulipas and New Leon." 

The battle at Palo Alto, situated east of the Eio Grande, 
occurred on the 8th of Fifth month, (May,) between the 
two armies under General Taylor and the Mexican General 
Arista. It was sustained for five hours, when the Mexicans 
were defeated with great loss in killed and wounded. 

On the following day the two armies again met at a ravine 
called Resaca de la Palma. A battle ensued which lasted 
for one hour and a half, when the Mexicans were entirely 
routed and pursued to the Rio Grande. Multitudes were 
drowned in attempting to cross to Metamoras. 

The reverses sustained at Palo Alto, and at Resaca de la 
Palma, spread dismay among the Mexicans, and on the 17th 
Arista sent a flag of truce, requesting an armistice of six weeks, 
giving as a reason, his wish to communicate with his own gov- 
ernment. The proposition was rejected, and on the following 
day, Taylor crossed the Rio Grande and took possession of the 



424 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

War proclaimed. 

1846 city of Metamoras without opposition. The valley of the Rio 
Grande was thus opened to American arms, and in the course 
of the summer, the troops occupied without any difficulty sev- 
eral lesser Mexican towns, and advanced upon Monterey. 

Immediately after the receipt of information from General 
Taylor that hostilities had commenced, a message was sent by 
the President to Congress, in which he stated that Mexico 
had passed the boundary of the United States, had invaded 
our territory, and shed American blood upon American soil. 
He asked that the existence of the war should be recognized, 
that means should be furnished for prosecuting it with vigor, 
in order to hasten the restoration of peace. The message 
was received on the 11th of Fifth month, (May,) and the 
decision on these important subjects occupied but a small por- 
tion of a single day ; every opportunity for debate being cut 
off by the " previous question." A bill was introduced into 
the House of Eepresentatives and passed, which declared 
that war existed by the act of Mexico, placed the army and 
navy at the disposal of the President, provided for the 
employment of fifty thousand volunteers, and appropriated 
ten millions of dollars for the prosecution of the war. The 
bill was passed by the Senate, and thus the war was recog- 
nized by Congress without any examination or any evidence 
of aggression on the part of Mexico. On the loth, a proc- 
lamation of war was issued by the President. 

The legislature of the State of Massachusetts adopted the 
following resolution, in reference to the act of Congress. 
*' That such a war of conquest, so hateful in its objects, so 
wanton, unjust and unconstitutional in its origin and charac- 
ter, must be regarded as a war against freedom, against 
humanity, against justice, against the Union, and against the 
free States : and that a regard for the true interests and 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 425 



Attack of Monterey. 



highest honor of the country, not less than the impulses of 1846 
Christian duty, should arouse all good citizens to join in efforts 
to arrest this war, and in every just way aiding the coun- 
try to retire from the position of aggression which it now 
occupies towards a weak, distracted neighbor, and sister 
Kepublic." 

On the 19th of Ninth month, (Sept.,) General Taylor 
appeared before Monterey, the capital of Nuevo Leon, and 
invested it with seven thousand men. The attack combined 
the horrors of a battle, a siege and an assault. Bomb shells 
were thrown into the city, which exploded, followed by the 
most terrific cries. The attack lasted two days ; and no ces- 
sation was allowed to bury the dead or remove the wounded. 

General Ampudia, the Mexican commander, surrendered 
on the 24th, and the Americans entered the place. All 
efforts on the part of General Taylor that the rights of the 
inhabitants should be respected were disregarded. They 
were subjected to the brutal treatment of the soldiery, and in 
many cases their lives were not spared. 

The next movement of Taylor's troops was to Saltillo, sixty- 
five miles from Monterey. Another army, under General 
Wool, had also entered Mexico, and crossing the Rio Grande, 
occupied Monclova and Parras. Santa Anna determined to 
strike a decisive blow on the invaders of his country. He had 
returned from his exile in the West Indies, had reentered 
the capital of Mexico, and was placed at the head of the l^^"^ 
Mexican forces. On the 22d of Second month, (Feb.,) with 
an army of twenty thousand men, he met General Taylor in 
the valley of Buena Vista. After a terrible and sanguinary 
battle, which lasted two days, the Americans were again com- 
pletely victorious. The Mexican army was disorganized and 
scattered; the route by which they retreated was strowed 
36* 



426 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, 

General Kearney. 

1847 with dead and dying. Santa Anna returned to the city of 
Mexico, and Taylor advanced to Encarnacion. 

The question of peace was frequently proposed by General 
Taylor, but the Mexican government as often declared itself 
unwilling to listen to any terms, while her soil was covered 
with hostile forces. The proposition being made to Santa 
Anna, he said in reply, "We sustain the most sacred of causes 
— the defence of our territory, and the preservation of our 
nationality and rights ; we are not the aggressors ; our gov- 
ernment has never offended that of the United States. * * * 
We are resolved to perish or vindicate our rights." 

Three invasions of Mexico from different points had been 
planned, in order to divide and distract her forces. The 
results of the movements of the main army under General 
Taylor, and of the division under General Wool, have been 
given. A third expedition was to proceed from Missouri, 
and to occupy first New Mexico, and subsequently California. 
The command of this expedition was given to General 
Kearney. 

Early in the summer of 1846, the '' Army of the West," 
under Gen. Kearney, left Fort Leavenworth, on the Missouri 
river, in the Indian territory, and after along march of nearly 
nine hundred miles, took possession of Santa Fe without 
opposition, on the 18th of Eighth month, (Aug.) Having 
made provision for a temporary government of New Mexico, 
he marched toward California. On the way he learned that 
that territory had already been subjected under the following 
circumstances. 

Confidential orders were sent as early as the 24th of Sixth 
month, (June), 1845, to Commodore Sloat, then commander 
of the United States naval forces in the Pacific : — '' If you as- 
certain with certainty that Mexico has declared war against the 



THE MEXICAN WAB. 427 



Subjection of California, 



United States, you will at once possess yourself of the port of 1846 
San Francisco, and blockade and occupy such other ports as 
your force may permit." Accordingly the day after receiving 
intelligence of Taylor's conflicts on the Rio Grande, the 
Commodore sailed for Monterey, and took possession of the 
place without opposition on the 7th of Seventh month, 
(July,) 1846, Two days afterward the American forces 
obtained possession of San Francisco ; and a proclamation 
was immediately circulated, "Henceforward California will 
be a portion of the United States." Pueblos des los Ange- 
les, the capital of the province, was soon after taken by Com- 
modore Stockton, who succeeded Sloat, Captain Fremont, of 
the United States army, had been sent by government on a 
tour of scientific exploration beyond the E-ocky Mountains. 
Secret orders ' were subsequently conveyed to him, which 
induced him to abandon his scientific pursuits and cooperate 
with the naval force in the war against California. In the 
course of the winter, the inhabitants of the province rose and 
offered resistance to their invaders. After some severe skir- 
mishes they were entirely overcome by Colonel Fremont and 
Commodore Stockton, and subsequently by General Kearney ; 
and the whole province fell into the hands of the Americans. 

The inhabitants of New Mexico revolted against those 
placed in authority by General Kearney. The American 
troops were reinforced from the States, and overcame the 
Mexicans at several different places, after some sharp con- 
tests. The battle of Sacramento was fought on the first day 
of the week, (Sunday.) 

In addition to the invasions of Mexico, already mentioned, 
her seaports were blockaded ; many of them were also occu- 
pied by American troops and many vessels were captured. 
The town of Tobasco was taken after being nearly demolished 
by severe cannonading. 



428 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Bombardment of Vera Cruz. 

1847 In the early part of 1847, plans were laid to seize Yera 
Cruz, the principal seaport on the Gulf of Mexico, and 
afterward to advance into the heart of the country, and take 
the city of Mexico. Accordingly in Third month, (March,) 
Vera Cruz and the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, which guards 
the harbor, were invested by land and sea, with the American 
forces under General Scott and Commodore Perry. A sum- 
mons to surrender having been rejected, on the 22d the 
batteries were opened on the city. The bombardment lasted 
nearly four days. It was computed that three thousand shells, 
each weighing ninety pounds, were thrown into the city, 
besides about the same number of round shot. In some in- 
stances, whole families were killed by the explosion of the 
murderous shells. Parts of the city were entirely destroyed, 
and the bodies of the inhabitants buried in the ruins. Terms 
of capitulation were executed on the 29th, and possession 
was given of the town and castle.* 

The army under Scott then proceeded to Cerro Gordo, fifty 
miles from Vera Cruz, on the heights of which another battle 

* The following is an extract from a Mexican accovxnt of the terrible 
bombardment. " The enemy, in accordance with his character, 
selected a barbarous mode of assassinating the unoffending and de- 
fenceless citizens, by a bombardment of the city in the most horrible 
manner, throwing into it four thousand one hundred bombs, and an 
innumerable number of balls of the largest size ; directing his shots 
to the powder magazine, to the quarter of hospitals of charity, to the 
hospitals for the wounded, and to the points he set on fire, where it 
was believed the public authorities would assemble with persons to 
put it out, to the bakers' houses, designated by their chimneys ; and 
during the night, raining over the entire city, bombs whose height 
was perfectly graduated with the time of explosion, that they might 
ignite in falling, and thus cause the maximum of destruction. 

*' At the second day of the bombardment, we were without bread 
or meat, reduced to a ration of beans, eaten at midnight, beneath a 
shower of fire." 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 429 



Negotiations for peace. 



was fought. After engagements on the 17th and 18th 1847 
of Fourth month, (April,) the latter being the first day 
of the week, the Mexicans were entirely defeated. 

The American army continued its march toward the city 
of Mexico, and on the 15th of the following month, Puebla, 
about one hundred miles from the capital, was taken without 
opposition. At this place the American army remained for 
a number of weeks, and was repeatedly reinforced. Leaving 
a garrison here, the march toward the capital was resumed 
on the 17th of Eighth month (Aug.) In the immediate 
neighborhood of the city, several battles were fought in which 
the Americans were victorious, and many Mexicans were 
killed and wounded. 

The determination of Mexico to enter into no negotiations 
of peace while her soil was covered with hostile forces, now 
yielded. An armistice took place, and negotiations were 
opened between N. P. Trist on behalf of this government, 
and commissioners on the part of Mexico. 

The peace proposed by the United States was the cession 
of one half of the Mexican dominions, exclusive of Texas 
proper.* Although the power of Mexico was much weak- 
ened, and her citizens were being slain by thousands, she 
could not consent to the proposed dismemberment of her 
territory, and the negotiations were ineffectual. She had 
offered a great and valuable cession ; but it was mainly situ- 
ated north of the Missouri compromise line, leaving space for 
only two slave States. It would therefore not secure the 



* This includes all the territory eventually obtained by the United 
States, and Lower California in addition, making an area of eight 
hundred thousand square miles ; while the area of the whole Republic 
is estimated to have been one million six hundred thousand square 
miles. 



4S0 HISTORY OP THE UNITED STATES. 

Bombardment of the city of Mexico. 

1847 real object of the war, the acquisition of slave territory, and 
was accordingly not accepted by the President of the United 
States.* 

At length the American army reached the city of Mexico. 
The strong fortress of Chapultepec, outside of the walls, was 
stormed and carried. The defences at the gates were assaulted 
and captured. The city was bombarded for a day and a half, 
and on the morning of the 14th of Ninth month, (Sept.,) 
it surrendered to General Scott. The destruction of life 
to the Mexicans is not precisely known. It has been esti- 
mated at four thousand ; among them, women and children. 
Many were killed by the blowing up of the houses ; many 
by the bombardment ; some by the confusion which prevailed 
in the city. The American loss was small in proportion. It 
has been stated at one thousand. 

Santa Anna, flying from the capital, assisted, with large 
reinforcements, in the investment and assault of Puebla, which 
had been undertaken by the Mexicans after Greneral Scott's 
departure for the city of Mexico, The siege was continued 
for twenty-eight days, when ftie Americans were relieved by 
the arrival of General Lane with two thousand troops from 
Vera Cruz. 

Other engagements form a part of the history of the war. 
They are but a record of bloodshed. Detachments of Ameri- 
can troops, in marching from one place to another, were fre- 

* Many speeches were made in Congress, which prove that the ob-. 
ject of the South in carrying on the war was the acquisition of slave 
territory. In addition, the following extract may be given, from the 
message of the governor of Virginia. "It is unquestionably true 
that if our slaves are restricted to our present limits, they would 
greatly diminish in value, and thus seriously impair the fortunes of 
their owners. The South can never consent to be confined to pre- 
scribed limits." 



THE MEXICAN WAR. 431 

Treaty of peace. 

quently attacked by guerilla forces, the loss of the Mexicans 
being usually far the greatest. 

General Scott retained possession of the capital, until it was 
relinquished by the treaty of peace, which was signed by com- 
missioners on the 2d of Second month, (Feb.,) 1848, and with 1848 
some amendments ratified by the United States Senate, and 
signed by the President on the 15th of Third month, (March.) 
It was afterward accepted by Congress, and finally ratified 
by commissioners on behalf of the United States, and the 
Minister of Relations of the Mexican Republic, on the part 
of that government. The capital and country of Mexico 
were soon afterward evacuated by American troops, and the 
blockade of the ports was raised. 

By this treaty, Mexico ceded to the United States, for the 
sum of fifteen millions of dollars, all Texas proper, with the 
territory between the Neuces and the Rio Grande, the whole 
of New Mexico and Upper California, making an area of more 
than eight hundred and fifty thousand square miles, which is 
equal to seventeen times the extent of the State of New York. 
It is said, however, not to be highly valuable either for agricul- 
tural, commercial or manufacturing purposes. 

The direct cost of the war to this government, in money, 
was upwards of one hundred millions of dollars. The indi- 
rect cost can scarcely be computed, but will probably be as 
much more ; and Mexico has doubtless been drained of a 
similar amount. 

The loss of life among the American troops in the battles 
which took place during the war, was astonishingly small in 
comparison with that of the Mexicans. But there was another 
great cause of mortality. The long marches, some of them of 
a thousand miles under a burning sun, proved fatal to very 
many ; and it appears that the number of deaths which took 



432 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Mortality. 

1848 place in the military hospitals exceeds those which occurred on 
the field of battle. To these must be added, in order to form an 
estimate of the loss of life occasioned by the war, the large num- 
bers whose constitutions were undermined by disease and vice, 
and whose career has since been early terminated in conse- 
quence. The condition of many of the poor creatures who lived 
to return is described as having been *^ offensive to every 
human sense, as well physical as moral." The number who 
were killed in battle, or perished by disease, during the two 
years' war with Mexico, is estimated to have been upwards 
of twenty thousand Americans and about as many Mexicans.* 



*The loss of the Mexicans in battle was much greater than 
that of the Americans ; but that of the Americans was much greater 
by disease. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

EXPLORING EXPEDITION UNDER CAPTAIN WILKES. 
Sails from Norfolk 

During the year 1838, an expedition was fitted out for the 1838 
purpose of exploring distant seas, for the security of navigation 
and for scientific research. The squadron consisted of six 
vessels, under command of Captain Wilkes. The services of 
men of science were secured, and every preparation was made 
for discoveries and scientific investigation. On the 18th of 
Eighth month, (Aug.,) 1838, the squadron sailed from 
Norfolk, Virginia, and proceeded first to the Island of Madeira. 
Here it remained one week, and then crossed to Rio de Janeiro. 
In this part of the voyage, many reputed rocks and shoals 
were carefully sailed over, and the navigation was discovered 
to be quite safe. The brilliancy of the sea at night in this 
tropical region excited great admiration. On one occasion it 
is said to have presented the appearance of being on fire. 

At Rio de Janeiro, scientific observations were made during 
the repairing of one of the vessels. Leaving this place a week 
was spent in the examination of the bar of the Rio Negro, 
after which the squadron touched at Orange Harbor in Terra 
del Fuego, where preparations were made for the first antarctic 
cruise. 

On the 25th of Second month, (Feb.,) 1839, two of the ves- 
sels left Terra del Fuego, and steered into the Southern ocean. 

They were soon separated by storms, but afterward joined 
37 



434 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The Sea Gull lost. Excursions. Arrival at Sydney. 

1839 company, and reached the sixty-eighth degree of south latitude. 
Many dangers were encountered from snow storms, heavy 
gales and icebergs. On the 22d of Third month, (March,) 
a barrier of ice formed one quarter of their horizon. One of 
the vessels was so much injured as to leak badly, but con- 
tinued to thread her course among the icebergs, and at one 
time was nearly surrounded by these floating islands. 

Some of the other vessels made short excursions and re- 
turned to Orange Harbor, having narrowly escaped shipwreck. 
The next point of destination for the squadron was Valparaiso. 
All the vessels reached that place safely excepting the Sea 
Gull, which was lost off Cape Horn. She was not seen again 
after leaving Orange Harbor. From Valparaiso and other 
places on the western coast of South America, excursions were 
made into the interior, and the naturalists were busily engaged. 
Magnetic and astronomical observatories were set up. At the 
village of Bancs, a hot spring was found, which cooked their 
eggs in three minutes. 

On the 15th of Seventh month, (July,) the squadron, now 
reduced to four vessels, left Callao, the store ship having 
been sent home. From this period, until the latter part of 
Eleventh month, (Nov.,) when they assembled at Sydney, 
New South Wales, the time was diligently occupied in sur- 
veying clusters of islands in the South Pacific ocean. The 
result of these labors has contributed much to the safety of 
the mariner. The interior of the islands was also explored 
by the officers and naturalists. Much information was ob- 
tained, and many specimens were collected. Magnetic, astro- 
nomical, tidal and meteorological observations were made 
with assiduity. 

At Sydney, preparations were made for the second antarctic 
cruise. Every facility was afforded by the governor and other 



UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 435 

Antarctic Continent. Danger from icebergs. 

officers of the government, as well as bj the citizens gener- 1839 
ally. The vessels were separated by a storm soon after sailing. 
Proceeding southward, the course of all was arrested by a 
compact barrier of ice, which prevented all approach to the 
antarctic continent, first discovered by this expedition. The 
sea was traversed between the latitudes of sixty-two and six- 
ty-seven degrees, from the longitude of one hundred and fifty- 
eight, to that of ninety-four east. The land was seen on 
twelve occasions, at short distances apart. It is worthy of 
observation that in this high latitude there was no occasion 
to light the binnacle lamps, as newspaper print could be read 
at midnight. 

The squadron met again at the Bay of Islands, the appoint- 
ed place of rendezvous, having escaped many perils. Im- 
mense icebergs had threatened destruction. On one occasion, 
one of the vessels was driven into the immediate vicinity of 
an ice island seven or eight miles in extent, with an elevation 
equalling the topgallant masthead, and its upper portion 
inclining toward the ship. While in this situation an oppor- 
tunity presented of forcing her into a narrow channel in the 
ice on her other side, and immediately a mass of ice and snow 
fell in her wake, which would have crushed the vessel had 
it fallen but a few moments earlier. In this high southern 
latitude, icebergs covered the sea in all directions. Terrific 
gales were experienced. The ships at times became covered 
with ice. The men were nearly exhausted with cold and 
fatigue, and sometimes little hope of escape remained. By 
the latter end of Third month, (March,) 1840, three of the 1840 
vessels had reached the Bay of Islands ; the fourth remained 
at Sydney to be repaired. 

Several months were next occupied in exploring various 
clusters of islands in the South Pacific ; after which the squad- 



436 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Northwest coast of America. Return home. 

ron met in the autumn at Honolulu, the chief port of the 
Sandwich Islands. During the winter and spring, the Society 
and various other groups of islands were examined, when the 
squadron, at different times, proceeded to the north-west 

1841 coast of America. The ship Peacock struck a bar in attempt- 
ing to enter the Columbia river, and all attempts to get her 
off were unavailing. The crew were saved. Another ves- 
sel being purchased to supply the loss of the Peacock, the 
river was surveyed as far as the Cascades, one hundred and 
twenty miles from its mouth. The coast of Oregon and of 
Upper California, with the sounds and islands, was explored, 
and parties were despatched into the interior. 

On the first of Eleventh month, (Nov.,) 1841, the squad- 
ron again put to sea, and crossed the Pacific ocean. Manilla, 
the principal port of the Philippine Islands, was visited, and 
passing through the Sooloo sea, the squadron met at Singa- 

1842 pore. At this place the Flying Fish was sold, leaving three 
vessels to return home, where they arrived early in the sum- 
mer, having been absent nearly four years. 

In addition to the Antarctic continent, four islands not laid 
down on any chart, and several reefs, were discovered by this 
Expedition. The navigator of all countries is indebted 
to it, for greatly contributing to his safety, as well as for 
affording him various facilities. Four hundred new charts 
have been published, accompanied by tidal and current deter- 
minations. Valuable information is also given as to anchor- 
ages, means of getting supplies, and :^the character of the 
people of the Pacific islands. The diurnal variation of the 
needle was observed whenever opportunity was afforded, 
and determinations were taken of the variation, both to the 
eastward and westward of the south magnetic pole. 

Two thousand sheets of drawings were brought home, 



UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 437 

Objects of interest collected. 

including illustrations in natural history, scenery, costumes, 
and portraits of individuals. Large collections in natural 
history have been deposited in the Patent-office at Washing- 
ton ; and at a museum in the same place, may be seen 
specimens of the implements, dress, ornaments and manu- 
factures of the diflferent people visited by the Expedition. 



37* 



CONCLUSION. 

The reader has now been carried througli the history of 
the United States. A large part of it has been made up of 
•wars, but their delineation has perhaps not been without a 
good effect. 

Almost nineteen hundred years after the coming of the 
Messiah was announced by the glorious anthem, " On earth 
peace, good will to men," and the blessed Founder of the 
Christian religion had established love as the badge of dis- 
cipleship ; — " By this shall all men know that ye are my dis- 
ciples, if ye have love one for another ; " we find the pro- 
fessed followers of this same Teacher " slow of heart to 
believe," and instead of loving their enemies as He has 
commanded, we see them carrying devastation by the sword, 
filling with anguish the heart of the widow and the orphan, 
debasing the morals of the country, and giving thanks for 
victory to the God of peace. 

When apparent causes for war arise, its consequences are 
greatly overlooked. The loss of life, the sufferings of 
armies, the sacrifice of property in the destruction of towns 
and cities, the deterioration of morals, the numbers that are 
made widows and orphans, the desolation which often follows 
the track of an army and the direct cost of the war, seem to be 
obscured or hidden by the prospect of national glory.* 

* The following is an extract from a letter of one of the officers of 
the army, engaged in the Mexican war : — 

" The sight of one battle-field cures one of a desire for military life. 
If he could see the literal piles of mangled corpses of the slain, some 



CONCLUSION. 439 



Cost of War. Slavery. 

The immense amount of money that is sacrificed in war, 
or in preparations for war in time of peace, cannot be appre- 
ciated. There is not an internal improvement of any kind 
that has been devised, that could not be carried on with the 
means thus worse than wasted. For several years past, our 
government has appropriated on the average nearly twenty 
millions annually for preparations for war, estimated to have 
been as much as seventy per cent, of its whole expenses. 

This nation is now blessed with peace, but she carries 
within her bosom a brand which may yet kindle a flame that 
will burst forth with destructive fury on our beloved country. 
Slavery is even now sapping the foundation of the Union, 
and has always been a source of contention between the 
South and the North. It is evil, religiously, morally and 
politically ; nor has it permanent pecuniary advantages to 
recommend it. It needs but a comparison between the slave- 
holding and free States, to show the disadvantages resulting to 

■without heads, some without legs or arms, some with their bowels 
torn open, the ground strown with the wounded, dead and dying, — he 
would be content with his lot. 

"The most heart-sickening spectacle I ever beheld was the arch- 
episcopal palace, at Tacabaya, converted into a hospital on the day of 
Molino del Iley. The floors of the spacious apartments were covered 
with wounded officers and men, to the extent of many hundreds, who 
were suffering horrid agonies, while the corps of surgeons were 
actively engaged in amputating limbs ; some of the victims screamed 
with agony, while others sustained themselves with heroic fortitude. 
I had occasion to go through the spacious building twice that day, 
and witnessed many operations. I saw the amputated limbs quiver- 
ing with life, while the gutters of the court were filled with streams of 
human blood." 

It must not be supposed that such scenes as this are not witnessed 
at every battle. The very nature of war leads to mutilation and 
slaughter, and every considerable battle in the country has pre- 
sented, as a necessary consequence, just such horrors as are here 
described. 



440 HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Disadvantages of slave labor. Education. 

all parties from slave labor. The comparative price of land, 
which, but a few years ago, possessed equal advantages with 
that in the free States, proves the disadvantages of the sys- 
tem. Education is at a low ebb, labor disreputable, busi- 
ness paralyzed, roads and bridges are neglected, and the 
country, which has long been under slave cultivation, is in a 
state of dilapidation.* 

In a country like ours, where the government is in the 
hands of the people, it is of great importance that education 
should be generally diffused. Accordingly we find a system 
of public schools in most of the free States, supported mainly 
by legislative enactments in the several States. In some of 
the States they are of a high order, and do honor to the coun- 
try. Energy and enterprise being crushed at the South, by 
the blighting influence of slavery, common schools are but 
little known ; consequently there is in those States a great 
proportion, even of the white population, who can neither read 
nor write. As late as 1848, one-fourth part of the white 
population in Virginia were in this state of ignorance, t 
In the State of New York, where there is immense 
immigration, there was, in 1840, but one in one hundred 
of this class,while in some of the New England States there 
was but one in four or five hundred, and in Connecticut, but 
one in five hundred and seventy-four. 

In bringing this history to a close, it is but just to remark 



* In 1843, the deficit in the Post Office department from the slave 
States was over six hundred thousand dollars ; while the surplus 
receipts from the free States was about enough to meet the de- 
ficiency. 

t In North Carolina, some few years since, out of a jury called 
on a certain occasion, not one man was found who was able to write. 



CONCLUSION. 441 



Remarks. 



that the aim has uniformly been to state all facts and occur- 
rences impartially, irrespective of national pride or national 
prejudice. History loses its value "when this rule is 
departed from. A false coloring and false statements tend 
alike to mislead. Hence the partisan, or he who is unwilling 
to see the faults of his country, may be disappointed in not 
finding national defects, and some instances of national injus- 
tice concealed. The true patriot cannot fail to see in the 
present condition of the country, much to love, much to ad- 
mire, and much to deplore ; and will rather rejoice in the 
discovery and cure of disease, than in its rankling in conceal- 
ment. And whatever may be the physical prosperity of the 
country, however wide its domain, whatever the increase of 
its rising cities, or however busy the hum of its commerce along 
far-reaching lines of canals and railways, the true lover of his 
country can never forget that it is righteousness that exalts a 
nation. It was never intended that man should live indepen- 
dently of his Creator, beneath the operation of whose rod, the 
mightiest monarchies and empires have sunk to impotence. 
Hence the promptings of true philanthropy and patriotism 
must look more especially to the prevalence of public and 
private virtue, to the support of justice and humanity, 
as the foundation of true national greatness and enduring 
prosperity. 



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BOOKBINDING 

CcTntville, Pa 



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